The campaign of alleged sexual harassment by Guy Oppenheim, 55, against Nadine Nassar, 36, included, it was claimed, forcing her to attend sessions of Kabbalah the mystical Jewish sect whose devotees include Madonna.
Mr Oppenheim, the married chief executive of Notz Stucki one of Europe’s largest asset management companies, allegedly turned “cold” against Miss Nassar after she stopped attending the Kabbalah sessions which he regarded as “very important”.
It is alleged that he then sacked her when she refused to go on a dateMiss Nassar, 36, told Central London Employment Tribunal: “It was clear that Mr Oppenheim wanted to start a relationship that went beyond friendship. He was calling me late in the evening to have general chats and it was never about business. After hanging up, he would send me a message asking if I was asleep.”
He allegedly compared Miss Nassar to the actress Kate Winslet, told her he was not getting on with his wife, and pestered her for dates. After she spurned his advances, she claimed she was sacked her from her £136,000-a-year post.
She is suing Notz Stucki for sex discrimination, sexual harassment, unfair dismissal and victimisation, which is denied. Miss Nassar, of Chelsea, is demanding £400,000 compensation.
In 2005 Mr Oppenheim’s son Louis, 18, a friend of Prince Harry at Eton, died in a backpack hostel in India amid reports he had taken a drug overdose. He had been staying with William Lloyd George the great-great-grandson of former Prime Minister David Lloyd George.
At the tribunal Miss Nassar claimed that Mr Oppenheim made advances even before she had started in January 2007 as a private client director. Mr Oppenheim, who is Swiss, sent one message which said: “Je t’embrasse”, French for I kiss you, the tribunal heard.
She said: “It soon became apparent that Mr Oppenheim had designs on more than my possible contribution to Notz Stucki’s business.”
She said she felt pressurised because he was my boss and on a business trip to Libya in March 2007, he phoned almost nightly to discuss personal matters, including his relationship with his wife. Messages he allegedly sent after 10pm included “I miss you” and “I would travel anywhere with you”.
Miss Nassar went to the cinema with Mr Oppenheim as a “one-off”, adding: “I certainly made no attempt to lead him on.”
Miss Nassar made a formal complaint about Mr Oppenheim in March 2008. Days later, in early April, Mr Oppenheim dismissed her on grounds of poor performance. “I was called into an office, without any prior warning, by Mr Oppenheim, who simply said: “This is not working out”.” She was told to leave immediately. “I felt devastated,” she said.
Miss Nassar maintained she had met ambitious financial targets by securing 43 million US dollars in client investments. * LMK Start * But the hearing was told that Mr Oppenheim claimed she had a “total lack of understanding of how financial markets work” and had not mixed well with colleagues.
He said it was board decision to fire Miss Nassar because she was “not up to the job”, she relied on her father’s contacts to bring in business and appeared “uncomfortable, flustered and inarticulate” in meetings.
