Christian Lanng

(Oct 11): A payment-technology company which counts Goldman Sachs Group Inc and HSBC Holdings Plc among its key investors has fired its chief executive officer amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Tradeshift Holdings Inc dismissed its co-founder Christian Lanng due to “serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment” and “gross misconduct on multiple grounds,” the company, which is based in San Francisco and Copenhagen, said in a statement late on Tuesday (Oct 10).

Tradeshift’s board became aware of the allegations in late August and dismissed Lanng on Sept 1, according to the statement. The US-Danish company has named chief revenue officer James Stirk acting CEO until a permanent replacement is found, and said it will set up a “dedicated and anonymous whistle-blowing line” for its 800 employees.

“I have always been able to vouch for my actions as a leader,” Lanng said in message sent to Bloomberg News. He added that he hopes the new management focuses “on creating value for employees and shareholders”.

Tradeshift, which operates in 13 countries, was valued at US$2.7 billion in a 2021 financing round. Lanng and two other Danish entrepreneurs, Mikkel Hippe Brun and Gert Sylvest, formed the company under the name EasyTrade in 2005. Goldman and HSBC invested in 2018. HSBC invested an additional US$35 million in July, as part of a plan to form a new, jointly-owned business developing embedded finance solutions and apps.