James Packer, David Gyngell punch-up shows executives can’t have a private life anymore

PACKER and Gyngell might still have their jobs, but for the rest of us, the line between public and private is “all but dead” no matter whether you’re a CEO or receptionist.

THIS week, an ugly brawl between two of Australia’s most high-profile businessmen made headlines around the world.

Pictures showed the tracksuit clad pair fighting like “crazy dogs” over a Channel Nine van parked in the street outside Mr Packer’s Bondi home, according to reports.

While David Gyngell has since claimed responsibility for the punch-up, police are investigating the incident and it’s a bad look for Mr Packer’s casino interests across the Asia Pacific region.

“It’s absolutely crazy in terms of casino credibility,” Australian shareholders Association spokesman Stephen Mayne told The Daily Telegraph.

Nine’s board said they still have full confidence in Mr Gyngell, although the network was forced into a six-figure bidding war to take control of the pictures that showed the boss wrestled to the ground in a headlock.

The ugly scuffle made headlines around the world.

It’s embarrassing to say the least, but as the former best mates nurse their bruises they can take comfort in the fact it’s not the first time executives have acted the fool in public.

Just this week PayPal’s director of strategy Rakesh Agrawal sent a series of tweets slamming vice president of global communications Christina Smedley as “useless.”

Although they were meant to be private messages, a new phone saw them broadcast via Twitter with unfortunate results.

Maurice Blackburn’s head of employment law Josh Bornstein said while once upon a time people used to go to the pub and let off steam but now the divide between public and private life is “all but dead.”

“The trend in employment law for 10-15 years is that the line that used to divide your working life and private life is collapsing. There are more and more cases which call into question conduct outside working hours which has ramifications for employment.”

More: Business Insider Chief Technology officer fired for expletive-laden Twitter account

He said no matter whether it’s moonlighting in a second job, taking recreational drugs or having a Sunday afternoon brawl, more and more cases where people are being dismissed for doing something out of hours are being upheld in court.

Swimmer Nick D’Arcy was banned from competing at the Beijing Olympics after he assaulted ex-swimmer Simon Cowley.

“What’s going on is indicative of the rise of the brand in our public and private lives. [Years ago] no one ever dreamt of having a personal brand. Now everyone’s very conscious of brand value, having a personal brand and brand damage minimisation strategies and so on. It’s very tied up in an increasingly competitive private sector world where maintaining brand is very important.

He said while executives often have morality clauses in contracts to uphold the values of the company, the fact is no matter whether you’re a sports star, radio DJ or receptionist, people don’t have a right to an “unconstrained” private life anymore.

“That’s the world we live in and the direction we’re living in more and more.”

Former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich resigned from the company over political donations made in 2008.

But ethics and privacy are particularly difficult fields to navigate, particularly in the social media age.

In April Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich found this out the hard way when he was forced to step down from the tech giant he founded after an online petition asked OK Cupid users to boycott the company.

It came after revelations Mr Eich made a political donation in support of California’s proposition 8, a law that opposed gay marriage, back in 2008.

Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker apologised in a blog post the company didn’t “stay true to ourselves.”

“We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act. We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better,” she said.

Rakesh Agrawal went on a late night Twitter tirade at his colleagues but blamed a new phone for the public tweets. Picture: Twitter

Whether it’s sex scandals, unsavoury tweets or political donations Institute of executive coaching and leadership director of education Dr Hilary Armstrong said executives have to assume a lack of privacy is implicit in high-profile roles.

“When you take on senior roles you’re tacitly agreeing you need to cede some of your privacy, it’s like privacy becomes the downside of fame. I don’t think it’s a bad thing actually.”

She said a recent a Stanford University report which showed the impact of a CEO’s divorce on shareholder behaviour illustrates the direct impact personal events can have on the bottom line.

“[CEO’s} are responsible not only to model behaviours inside company, [but] if they’re publicly listed, they’re like a personification of the brand.”

“They need to be mindful or reflective at all times. And use the sunlight test — don’t do anything you wouldn’t be willing to say on the 7:30 report and have your friends and family see.”

Do you think it’s possible to have a private life anymore and should a CEO’s private actions affect their company? Continue the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ | @Victoria_Craw | @JoshBBornstein

Originally published as James Packer, David Gyngell punch-up shows executives can’t have a private life anymore