What happens when accusations of egregious wrongdoing hit the founder and globally recognised face of a leading architectural practice? This is not a hypothetical question on a management course, but the real-word scenario that last summer seemed on the verge of destroying David Adjaye’s career and bringing down the hugely successful practice he founded.

When the Financial Times’ story alleging abusive and professionally inappropriate behaviour with three black women broke on 4 July, it triggered a wave of clients from Liverpool to the UAE to drop Adjaye Associates. Adjaye himself acknowledged relationships with three women whom he went on to employ, but said they were consensual and that key abusive and coercive incidents set out in the article had simply not taken place.

The FT says the version of events it reported was corroborated by the women’s colleagues, friends and families, and that it spoke to 13 members of staff, some of whom referred to “toxic” working hours within the firm. While many clients did stand by Adjaye, the business was forced to cut staff and retrench in order to manage the financial impact.

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