- Harrison attacked the former FTX CEO for manipulating and threatening coworkers
- Harrison resigned on September 27, just over a month before FTX’s catastrophic collapse
In a highly public Twitter rant, former FTX US President Brett Harrison labeled ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried as totally insecure and intransigent, saying his relationship with SBF and his deputies “had reached a point of total deterioration, after months of disputes over management practices at FTX.”
Manipulation and threats
Harrison attacked the former FTX CEO for manipulating and threatening coworkers who tried to reorganize FTX US’ management structure.
Apparently, Harrison had been hired “casually over text” in 2021. Cracks began to appear between him and SBF six months into his tenure at FTX US.
When facing conflict, there was “total insecurity and intransigence” in Bankman-Fried, which came to the fore when Harrison proposed FTX US establish separate branches for its legal, developer, and executive teams.
According to Harrison, Bankman-Fried’s behavior was inexplicable and erratic, and he began to suspect mental health issues.
Allegedly, Bankman-Fried threatened to ruin Harrison’s professional reputation if he didn’t get a formal apology, which reinforced his decision to leave FTX US. Harrison resigned as president on September 27, just over a month before FTX’s catastrophic collapse.
Harrison said he was “blinded” by FTX’s purported misuse of billions of customer funds:
I never could have guessed that underlying these kinds of issues — which I’d seen at other more mature firms in my career and believed not to be fatal to business success — was multi-billion-dollar fraud. If any one of us had suspected let alone learned the truth, we would have reported them immediately.
FTX US President wasn’t a “dream job”
He added:
As a group of my friends, mentors, and investors knew then, I’d felt such a strong conviction to found my own company that it wasn’t worth keeping a “dream job,” no matter the prestige or upside, no matter the risk it posed to my reputation in departing so early.
SBF pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. He was granted bail after posting a $250 million bond guarantee, which his parents paid.
