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On Friday, Vice Media provided a statement to The New York Times in response to questions about its workplace culture. On Saturday, the company distributed to its staff members a longer version of the statement that follows below.

As most of you know, The New York Times has been working on a piece about the workplace culture here at Vice. The Times is planning to run the story online shortly.

Listening to our employees over the past year, the truth is inescapable: from the top down, we have failed as a company to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected and thrive. Cultural elements from our past, dysfunction and mismanagement were allowed to flourish unchecked. That includes a detrimental “boy’s club” culture that fostered inappropriate behavior that permeated throughout the company. It happened on our watch, and ultimately we let far too many people down. We are truly sorry for this.

As you know, we have already taken action regarding multiple instances of unacceptable behavior, resulting in the termination of three employees. We will continue to investigate all allegations that are brought to our attention.

We understand that this had an impact on current and former employees at Vice, and we want to express our deepest apologies to them, as well as our extreme regret for our role in perpetuating sexism in the media industry and society in general.

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Our failures stem from a) our ignorance, b) the inability to see the impact of our rapid growth, and c) the internal dysfunction that ensued. To be clear it was not any kind of intentional, company-level systemic bias. This doesn’t excuse our mistakes, but we hope it gives you confidence in our desire and ability to get it right.

Vice began 23 years ago as a punk magazine exploring the subversive counterculture that our writers, our readers and we were a part of. We were vehemently anti-censorship, anti-establishment and apolitical, and we wanted to build a company based on egalitarian principles.

Ten years ago, we set out on a new journey, moving beyond covering just streetwear, drugs and sex, to news and social justice issues. Over the last decade, we have severed ties with colleagues who espoused misogynistic and extremist ideologies, and evolved Vice from a publication with a tiny staff to a media company employing thousands of the most talented creative minds all over the world.

Throughout our history, we’ve undergone seismic change and reinvention, but we did not keep pace with that growth by putting into place the internal policies and structures that would prevent disparate treatment toward some of our employees.

So what are we going to do now? We’re going to make Vice a truly modern work culture that lives up to the egalitarian values that we lost. We are going to listen to our staff, and we are going to train a new generation of managers and leaders. Below is a list of actions we have already taken to make Vice a better place:

• HR: We hired a new Chief Human Resources Officer, Susan Tohyama, who has broad authority to implement changes worldwide.

• Advisory Board:We created a new Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board – chaired by Roberta Kaplan, and including Tina Tchen, Gloria Steinem, Alyssa Mastromonaco, Maya Harris and others – to address critical issues of workplace culture and develop and implement changes.

• Pay Parity: We have committed to pay parity by the end of 2018, under the guidance of Columbia University Professor Suzanne Goldberg, a leading expert on the issue.

• Non-Traditional Workplace Agreement: With consultation from the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board, we have removed the non-traditional workplace agreement that employees were formerly required to sign.

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• Maternity/Paternity Leave: We have expanded maternity and paternity benefits for all full-time employees.

• Strengthened Reporting Process: We have clarified consensual relationships and sexual harassment policies and reporting procedures, creating a confidential, third-party operated, employee hotline to report tips or complaints.

• Enhanced Training Programs: We revamped our training programs and enlisted a well-known and experienced consultant in workplace training, Wade Davis of YSC, to lead sensitivity training sessions for senior management.

• New C.O.O.: We expanded Sarah Broderick’s role to global Chief Operating Officer. This gives Sarah the authority she needs to improve efficiency and accountability in our work environment.

We can no longer be a part of the problem – particularly if, as journalists and storytellers, we want to investigate and cover the many injustices in the world today.

No matter your gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, at Vice, we will listen to and amplify your stories, and we will make this a company in which we can all take pride.

Sincerely,

Shane and Suroosh

EXCLUSIVE: Phoebe Philo to Leave Céline

The British designer’s departure caps a 10-year tenure at the label.

PARIS — Longtime Céline designer Phoebe Philo is leaving the house after 10 years, WWD has learned.

According to a source with knowledge of the matter, Philo will not work for another label in the near future and her successor to the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned house will be named in the coming months.

The fall 2018 collection, to be presented in March, will be the last collection crafted by the designer.

In the interim, the label’s collections will be designed by Céline teams, “in keeping with the craftsmanship the house is renowned for,” the person said.

In a statement seen by WWD, the designer thanked her teams.

“Working with Céline has been an exceptional experience for me these last 10 years. I am grateful to have worked with an incredibly talented and committed team and I would like to thank everyone along the way who has been part of the collaborations and conversations…it’s been amazing.”

LVMH chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault said:

“What Phoebe has accomplished over the past 10 years represents a key chapter in the history of Céline. We are very grateful to Phoebe for having contributed to the great momentum of this maison. A new era of development for Céline will now start and I am extremely confident in the future success of this iconic maison.”

Philo, who arrived at Céline after taking time out to raise her family, had won acclaim for a stellar stint at Chloé. She transformed Céline with sleek and luxurious leather goods and modernist clothing.

Vice founders apologize for allowing a “boy’s club” culture at the company

Vice Media founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi say they are “truly sorry” for not doing enough to stop inappropriate behavior at the company. In a public statement issued shortly before The New York Times published an article on Saturday that described multiple accounts of sexual misconduct by Vice employees, Smith, its chief executive officer, and Alvi said they are taking several steps to improve Vice’s workplace culture, including new harassment reporting procedures.

Founded in 1994 as a magazine about Montreal’s punk scene, Vice eventually relocated to New York City to expand its coverage of counterculture issues. A decade ago, Vice began building its reach considerably with a digital empire that now includes multiple websites and an international TV channel with original reporting and documentaries. It has raised about $1.4 billion in funding, including a $450 million round in June that put its post-money valuation at $5.7 billion, and is currently exploring a public offering. Despite its edgy editorial tone, Vice’s investors include The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox and A+E Networks.

The New York Times’ article, headlined “At Vice, Cutting-Edge Media And Allegations of Old-School Sexual Harassment,” alleged that Vice’s forward-thinking did not extend to its treatment of female employee and put it among many other companies, including Uber, Netflix, Amazon Studios, NBC and Fox News, that have been rocked by sexual harassment charges. The newspaper uncovered four settlements paid by Vice over allegations of sexual harassment by its employees, including current president Andrew Creighton. The New York Times also spoke to more than two dozen women who said they had either experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct at the company.

“The settlements and the many episodes of harassment the women described depict a top-down ethos of male entitlement at Vice, where women said they felt like just another party favor at an organization where partying often was an extension of the job,” wrote New York Times reporter Emily Steel.

In their statement, which was originally sent as a memo to Vice’s staff, Smith and Alvi apologized for enabling a sexist workplace culture and voiced “extreme regret for our role in perpetuating sexism in the media industry and society in general.” A shorter version of the statement was also provided to the New York Times ahead of publication and quoted in the article.

Neither Smith or Alvi were accused of sexual harassment in the New York Times piece, but several former or current members of Vice’s management were, including Creighton, chief digital officer Mike Germano and former Vice News head Jason Mojica, who was fired last month.

“Listening to our employees over the past year, the truth is inescapable: from the top down, we have failed as a company to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected and thrive,” Smith and Alvi wrote. “Cultural elements from our past, dysfunction and mismanagement were allowed to flourish unchecked. That includes a detrimental ‘boy’s club’ culture that fostered inappropriate behavior that permeated throughout the company. It happened on our watch, and ultimately we let far too many people down. We are truly sorry for this.”

The two wrote that Vice has already fired three employees over “unacceptable behavior” and outlined other steps the company is taking to change its culture. These include a new chief human resources officer, Susan Tohyama, a former HR exec at the National Basketball Association who has been given “broad authority” to make changes at Vice. Chief financial officer Sarah Broderick is now also Vice’s chief operating officer, giving her more power to change its work environment.

Smith and Alvi also said Vice will no longer make employees sign its “non-traditional workplace agreement,” a contract intended to acknowledge they might deal with “offensive, indecent, violent or disturbing content” in the course of their work, but which some interpreted to mean they could not complain about harassment.

Other measures promised include revised policies on consensual relationships and sexual harassment; a third-party employee hotline for reporting misbehavior; a diversity advisory board that will be chaired by lawyer Roberta Kaplan and include prominent women including Gloria Steinem; pay parity by the end of 2018; diversity training; and extended maternity and paternity leave benefits for all employees.

The release suggests several high-profile suspects are agreeing to settlements

The Saudi government in recent days has released at least two dozen high-profile suspects held in a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption, a sign that those accused of illegally amassing wealth are increasingly agreeing to settle as authorities push to expedite the investigation process.

Among those released in the past week is Ibrahim al-Assaf, a former finance minister and board member of the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, who was accused of embezzlement related to the expansion of Mecca’s Grand Mosque and taking advantage of his position, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.

Others released include former assistant minister of finance Mohammed bin Homoud Al Mazyed, Saoud al-Daweesh, former chief executive of Saudi Telecom, Prince Turki bin Khalid, and Mohy Saleh Kamel, a businessman, the people said. None of the suspects freed could be immediately reached for comment.

“They all settled to get out,” said a senior adviser to the Saudi government. “At least two dozens were released if not more.”

“We will see more getting released soon and court trials for those who want to clear their names. The government want this over sooner than later,” he said.

Spokespeople for the Saudi government didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The anticorruption campaign began in early November and has swept up more than 200 people, including senior government officials, prominent businessmen and members of the ruling family, many of whom have been confined to the opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel in western Riyadh.

The investigation is being led by a newly established anticorruption agency headed by the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is pushing to overhaul Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy as well as its conservative society.

The detainees, who face accusations that range from procurement fraud to money laundering and bribery, were given the option by Saudi authorities of relinquishing part of their wealth in exchange for freedom rather than going to court.

The government already freed in the past month several of those arrested after they agreed to surrender a part of their assets. That included Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the most politically influential royal detained in the campaign who was once seen as a leading contender to the throne, after he agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle corruption allegations against him. Prince Miteb couldn’t be reached for comment.

The anti-graft campaign has largely been welcomed in Saudi Arabia, where many people are angry at what they see as rampant corruption among the wealthy. It has helped burnish Prince Mohammed’s popular image as a champion of fairness, though some analysts and observers outside the kingdom see the crackdown as part of a centralization of power in the hands of the young crown prince. He became next in line to the throne this summer.

The release of some detainees has also been cheered on social media, irking others.

It isn’t clear how many people are still detained as part of the government crackdown. Other high-profile detainees who remain at the Ritz include billionaire tycoon Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, a major investor in companies including Citigroup Inc. and Apple Inc. through his firm Kingdom Holding Co., and Adel Fakieh, who until he was detained was Saudi Arabia’s economy minister.

Saudi authorities are demanding at least $6 billion from Prince al-Waleed to free him from detention, people familiar with the matter said, potentially putting the global business empire of one of the world’s richest men at risk.

Prince al-Waleed is talking with the government about instead accepting as payment for his release a large piece of Kingdom Holding, people familiar with the matter said.

Chip Makers Aren’t Stacking Bets on Cryptocurrencies

Nvidia, AMD keep crypto-mining demand out of their forecasts

Cryptocurrency groups barred from Tel Aviv exchange as international warnings mount

Israeli authorities became the latest national regulators to crack down on cryptocurrencies, announcing on Monday they would bar companies trading in bitcoin from operating on the Tel Aviv stock exchange.

The move by the Israel Securities Agency follows last week’s warnings by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulator, against companies that “tout the potential of high returns associated with cryptocurrency-related activities”.

Other countries — including China, whose decision to shutter bitcoin exchanges and ban initial coin offerings in September led to a sharp drop in prices — have made similar regulatory moves in recent weeks as fears grow of a bitcoin bubble.

Shmuel Hauser, director of the Israeli regulator, said a committee he has appointed to investigate how to regulate the digital currency would report back in the coming week, warning that he viewed the skyrocketing prices to be “a bubble”.

“Nobody knows what stands behind this,” Mr Hauser said of the digital currency’s rise in value. Regulation was necessary “because the public is unprotected,” he added.

Bitcoin suffered its biggest sell-off of the year last week when it dropped more than 30 per cent to under $11,000 per coin on Friday. It has since recovered during holiday trading, but by late Monday in London it was hovering near $14,000, well off its mid-December highs of about $20,000.

Earlier in December, several Israeli companies announced their intention of delving into the bitcoin trade, moves which saw their shares soar on the Israeli market. The securities authority has since taken measures to try to curb speculation by Israeli financial companies in the digital currency.

"I think it looks like a bubble, smells like a bubble, acts like a bubble and feels like a bubble," Mr Hauser said.

Under the Israeli regulator’s plans, companies whose “principal services” are in digital currencies will not be allowed to trade on the Tel Aviv market, while those that are already listed but shift “the majority of its operations “ to bitcoin would be removed from the exchange.

Despite scepticism by the market regulator, Israeli media reported earlier this week that Israel’s central bank and finance ministry were considering the creation of a state cryptocurrency — a digital shekel — for use in cellular transactions in the country, which would allow users to bypass banks in transferring cash between individuals and businesses.

If approved, Israel would join at least three other countries — China, Japan, and Sweden — that have begun playing with the concept of an official digital currency.