CNBC reporter at center of NBCUniversal scandal said she wanted ‘trust, transparency, kindness’

CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble, who accused NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in a complaint that led to his ousting, had previously spoken about what she values ​​when it comes to personal relationships.

In an interview published in Harpers Bazaar Arabia last year, Gamble said she was open to meeting someone who shares the same values.

“Every relationship teaches you more about yourself and the whole purpose of life is to grow and become a better, stronger and hopefully more interesting person,” Gamble said.

“Trust, transparency, kindness, the chutzpah to tell it like it is – even when the truth hurts… and generosity of spirit,” she said, describing the ideal companion.

During the interview, Gamble made no mention of the on-again, off-again relationship she allegedly had with Shell, which ended a few years ago.

Sunday it was announced how Shell left his position at the company following an investigation to his behavior was launched about a month ago.

Gamble’s lawyers subsequently confirmed in a statement: “The investigation into Mr Shell arose from a complaint from my client alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination,” said Suzanne McKie, a managing partner of Farore Law, a UK-based firm. .

“Given these circumstances, it is very disappointing that my client’s name has been released and her privacy has been violated.”

Shell, who is married to Laura Fay Shell, has admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with an employee, which he says he “deeply regrets”.[s]’.

The details of his affair with Gamble, 41, are not publicly known.

The CNBC anchor moved to the channel’s Middle East coverage in 2018 after it began broadcasting Capital Connection from its new studio in Abu Dhabi.

She previously worked for ABC News and Fox News in Washington, DC and also hosted CNBC’s Access show about the Middle East and Africa.

The high-flying news anchor grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, the daughter of a car dealer and teacher, and attended Halls High School in the city.

She graduated from the University of Miami in 2003, where she was a member of the famous Delta Gamma sorority, which has a number of media personalities among its alumni.

Gamble is unmarried and generally tight-lipped about her love life.

During her CNBC Access segment, she often speaks with world political and business leaders, including Mike Pompeo, King Abudullah II of Jordan, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh el-Sisi.

In 2021, Gamble interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said she was too “beautiful” to understand anything he made about energy.

After the interview, body language experts claimed that Gamble flirted with Putin as a distraction tactic.

Gamble made light of the situation by uploading a photo to Instagram in which she pointed to an article in the Russian publication Kommersant about the interview, captioned “my best angle” with a smiling emoji and #feminism tag.

During last year’s interview, she talked about her upbringing in the eastern mountains of Tennessee, where she started taking care of her father’s horses when she was 10 years old.

“I think shoveling manure probably gave me a whole different perspective on all the things we cover,” she said. “This wasn’t the life I was prescribed,” she admits, adding that her family expected her to become a teacher, maybe go to law school, and get married.

“I really need to understand, you know, what money means to people and what a basic life is… I mean, no one has a harder life than a farmer who wakes up at five in the morning to make sure everything is quiet. is. alive,” said Gamble, the daughter of a car dealer and teacher.

Gamble began her career working for agencies Associated Press and Reuters, but got her break at ABC after an old boyfriend introduced her to a booker for Good Morning America, which in turn led to her landing a gig as a production assistant for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.

Harvard- and Berkeley-educated Shell, 57, from Michigan, has been with Comcast for more than 20 years and joined the company from Fox.

He led international operations from London from 2011 to 2013 before becoming president of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment.

He took over as CEO in January 2020 and was responsible for overseeing a vast portfolio spanning from news and entertainment TV networks to the movie studio, theme parks and other divisions.

As CEO of NBCUniversal, Shell was also tasked with moving the company more strongly into streaming.

He and his wife hosted a fundraising event at their $10 million Beverly Hills mansion for Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, according to Variety.

Shell is the second senior executive forced to leave NBCUniversal in recent years.

In April 2020, NBCUniversal said it had parted ways with Vice President Ron Meyer after he failed to properly disclose his settlement payment to a woman he had a consensual affair with several years earlier.

Shell said at the time that Meyer “acted in a manner that we believe is inconsistent with our company policies or values.”