WhistlePig’s Founder Battling Corporate Coup
By Richard Thomas
WhistlePig founder Raj Bhakta’s splashy, sometimes even extravagant style had already earned him some enemies in whiskey media circles, and now it seems also on his own board. According to the Burlington Free Press, Bhakta was ousted from the helm of WhistlePig after a meeting of the company board earlier this month.
The meeting was called by two minority stakeholders in the company, Wilco Faessen and Christopher Evison, and Bhakta was not invited. Instead, he was informed he had to recuse himself because his conduct was at issue. In fact, only Faessen and Evison were present. Bhakta controls three of the six votes on the board, and the fourth voting member, Jose Robledo, was not present either. Essentially, Faessen and Evison exploited the company bylaws, formed a closed quorum, and mounted a coup against Bhakta.
Both Faessen and Evison represent the interests of the Colombian Santo Domingo family as part of their day jobs, and the Santo Domingos also own a sizable stake in the company.
To exploit those bylaws Faessen and Evison needed ammunition in the form of fraud and criminality. First, the pairs claims Bhakta “drove while intoxicated on April 26, 2015, and (pleaded) guilty to the criminal offense of negligent operation of a motor vehicle,” and that he lied to the arresting officer by claiming not to be intoxicated. They also allege Bhakta smoked marijuana on company property and secretly promised an equity stake to Danhee Kim in 2011. Kim was the marketing director at the time, and is now Bhakta’s wife.
Bhakta dismisses the charges as being overstated and misrepresentations. In the motor vehicle incident, Bhakta was stopped for speeding and cited for suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), but plead guilty to negligent operation of a motor vehicle. He also says his failure to inform the board of the agreement with Kim was an oversight, which he later rectified. Indeed, the board is known to have later ratified the agreement with Kim, although how Faessen and Evison voted is unknown.
Bhakta is now suing and seeking a status quo order from the Court of Chancellery in Delaware, where WhistlePig is incorporated. This would maintain Bhakta in place as head of the company until the trial was decided.
