WWE notes: Front office changes, $39 million lawsuit settlement

WWE announced some hirings, departures, and the settlement of a lawsuit Friday.

Karen Mullane is their new Controller and Principal Accounting Officer, replacing Mark Kowal who had been with the company for 19 years, last as Corporate Controller. The 56-year-old Mullane has high-ranking stints with CreateMe Technologies, SeatGeek, SoulCycle, and Etsy on her resume.

Kowal joins two other recent front office releases: Brian Nurse (Senior VP/General Counsel & Secretary) and John Brody (Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales and Partnership and Head of International), both reported by PWInsider.  

From the top down, WWE’s front office and Board have both undergone a number of personnel changes this year due to the pandemic.

The company also announced the settlement of a $39 million class action lawsuit with the City of Warren (Michigan) Police and Fire Retirement System, aka their pension fund.

The fund filed the claim in March, alleging WWE executives deceived the investing public regarding WWE’s business with their Saudi Arabia deal and artificially inflated their stock in doing so. They claimed senior WWE executives sold more than $280 million worth of shares at “fraud inflated prices.” The suit claimed WWE failed to disclose failed negotiations with the Saudi government over a new broadcasting deal and that WWE didn’t have the ability to expand operations to the Middle East as they had claimed to investors.

In the release, WWE said, “The Company believes that resolving the matter is the right business decision and that it is prudent to end the protracted and uncertain class action process.”