Neom Names Michael Lynch as Acting Media Head Amid Report Alleging Racism and Disregard for Worker Safety
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October 14, 2024UPDATED: Australian arts and culture executive Michael Lynch has been named acting sector head for media at Neom, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity in-the-making. Lynch is taking on the role after a Wall Street Journal report leveled accusations of racism an…
By
Nick Vivarelli
International Correspondent
UPDATED: Australian arts and culture executive Michael Lynch has been named acting sector head for media at Neom, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity in-the-making.
Lynch is taking on the role after a Wall Street Journal report leveled accusations of racism and misogyny at Wayne Borg who was running the media hub at Neom.
According to the report published last week, Borg – an Australian who is a former Fox Studios executive in Los Angeles and in Australia – is alleged to have made several racist and discriminatory comments that were recorded.
“Michael Lynch has assumed the role of acting sector head for media, in addition to his existing responsibilities as the sector head of entertainment and culture,” a Neom representative on Wednesday in a statement.
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“At Neom, we take allegations of this nature very seriously. We are committed to upholding our Code of Conduct, which sets clear standards for the actions and behaviors of every employee,” the statement added, further noting that “We do not tolerate breaches of our Code of Conduct and have adopted a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and harassment in all forms.”
“We are dedicated to continuing to build a strong and positive culture and an inclusive, respectful, and ethical workplace for all. The very serious allegations that have appeared in the press regarding NEOM Senior Executives do not reflect the behavior of our 5,000 employees. The safety and welfare of our workforce are our top priorities, and our Worker Welfare team has strong policies to ensure everyone is treated with dignity, care, and respect,” the statement went on to say.
It is still not completely clear what Borg’s status is at Neom. The Neom media office did not immediately respond to a question on this matter.
Lynch is a former CEO of the Sydney Opera House, CEO of London’s South Bank Centre, and CEO of the Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.
The first instance reported by the Journal involves a situation in which Neom executives were dealing with issues raised by the deaths of three workers on the project.
“‘A whole bunch of people die so we’ve got to have a meeting on a Sunday night,’” Borg said on a phone call, according to a recording heard by Journal. The Journal reported that Borg described said the project’s blue-collar workers from the Indian subcontinent had been “f—ing morons” and “that is why white people are at the top of the pecking order,” the Journal reported.
The Journal report more broadly looks at several executives accused of engaging in inappropriate workplace behavior and fostering unsafe work conditions in various sectors at Neom, the postmodern desert city known as “the Line” planned to run 105 miles and be powered solely by renewable energy.
The report alleges that Borg demonstrated a casual disregard for worker safety. ” ‘You can’t train for stupidity. The white blokes are at the top of the tree,” Borg is alleged to have said in the Journal report.
The Journal report cited several other examples of alleged inappropriate workplace behavior and misogynistic statements made by Borg. It also referenced allegations made against several other executives connected to Neom.
Since taking on the job of running Neom’s media hub in 2019 Borg — whose official title at Neom is managing director of media, entertainment, culture and fashion Industries — has attracted a range of large-scale productions spanning from Rupert Wyatt’s long-gestating $150 million Hollywood tentpole “Desert Warrior,” starring Anthony Mackie and Ben Kingsley, to Rajkumar Hirani’s Bollywood blockbuster “Dunki” starring Shah Rukh Khan, and Saudi-owned MBC Studios’ 10-part fantasy series “Rise of the Witches,” the biggest TV series ever to be made in the region.
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