Source: Radio New Zealand
A woman who shared a video online of Wealth Mentor chief executive Kyron Gosse slapping her says she did so to raise awareness of workplace bullying.
Savannah Carter is a property manager who previously worked as a contractor for property investing coaching firm Wealth Mentor.
She posted the video on her personal Instagram account. It appears to show Gosse slap her across the face.
“I had started with Wealth Mentor as a student and saw some success and apparently I’m a half-decent speaker,” she told RNZ.
“I was asked to give testimonials and speak on stage to share my story, my journey. That progressed into my joining the leadership team and starting to run a couple of my sort of promotions… we were in the recording studio filming content for the online course that Wealth Mentors has and also promotional material for upcoming events and what not… it was my first real time trying to speak to camera. I was tripping up over myself… I think Kyron, in his very misguided way, thought it would be helpful to literally slap me out of it.”
She said it happened in late 2024. “That was the first of a number of physical and verbal assaults… it was not the only time he laid hands on me. He did also spit a spitwad in my face through a straw on occasion.
“There’d been a number of occasions where he had doused me with water in a restaurant. It was always in what he thought was good fun, I don’t believe he ever intended to actually cause me physical harm but he was just entirely inappropriate.”
She has since been sent a cease and desist letter, telling her that the footage was commissioned and paid for by Wealth Mentor Ltd and was company controlled-material. “It was provided to you on a strictly limited basis for viewing purposes only.”
Wealth Mentor said in an email to RNZ that Carter was “subject to a cease and desist letter for the breach of her obligations to our business, and for harassment and other statutory offenses. An injunction application will be following given that Savannah is continuing with the prohibited conduct notwithstanding being reminded that this is illegal.”
It also urged RNZ to “seek legal advice before publishing any information obtained from Savannah” because it could make the organisation complicit.
Savannah Carter has shared a video of her being slapped by Wealth Mentor chief executive Kyron Gosse. Supplied / Screenshot
The Wealth Mentor website no longer contains reference to Gosse.
Carter said anti-bullying initiative Pink Shirt Day had prompted her to speak out.
“I was seeing on my social media feed a lot of content around people sharing their experiences of being bullied or raising funds for the pink shirt charity. And so I was, if you will, inspired to be brave and come forth with my experience to advocate, is the best word, against this sort of behaviour, because it’s so common. I used to be an employment lawyer in a past life, and I mostly represented employees.
“And I saw it all the time, whether it was verbal, physical, emotional harassment or abuse. And so often, you know, people in that weaker position or the one who’s not in a position of power, it feels like they have no choice but to be quiet about it because there’s a repercussion. And that’s why I stayed quiet for so long and why I just sort of tucked it up and didn’t really tell anyone except three immediate family members.
“I was embarrassed to tell anyone what had happened at the time. I was just getting in with this company and I was excited and I was concerned about how it would affect my career and my opportunities if I said anything at the time. The other reason for the timing was that I resigned in February.”
She remains a 10 percent shareholder. She said she was hoping for more awareness and to reduce workplace and school bullying.
“I want to turn into an advocate against bullies, against bullying. I believe that silence only protects the wrong people. So I’m making a stand.”
Legal expert Alison Maelzer, of Hesketh Henry, said slapping, even in jest, was not appropriate in any workplace and could be a criminal offence.
But she said because Carter was a contractor, it could limit the claims available to her.
“Health and safety obligations apply to all workers – meaning that the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) would – in summary – have a duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of all workers – contractors and employees.
“In relation to the ‘ownership’ of the footage, there are a number of things potentially at play but I am unsure which, if any, apply here. The employee/contractor may have obligations relating to confidential business information. The video footage likely contains personal information about the employee/contractor. She would therefore be entitled to request access to this information, under the Privacy Act 2020. There are limited grounds for refusing access. I am unsure whether any intellectual property rights would apply here.”
Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make and spend money.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand