Given his success, he was highly regarded by members of the senior leadership team and the board, including the CEO of GuideOne, Jessica Snyder, the COO, Michelle Glasl, and its general counsel, Andy Noga who frequently lauded his work during Board meetings and other internal and external events.
Although Mark has identified as bisexual for many years, his sexual orientation was not known within the company because he was married to a woman at the time of his hire and he kept his personal life, including his sexual orientation, private in professional settings.
By fall 2021, Mark had come to terms with the fact that his sexual orientation was known within the company and no longer attempted to hide it. Therefore, when one of his clients invited him to a gala for the Log Cabin Republicans, a branch of the Republican Party committed to supporting LGBTQ+ rights, he accepted and attended.
Mr. Noga’s formerly friendly demeanor and rapport with Mark allegedly turned icy at this point, and as Mark and others in the senior leadership team observed, Mr. Noga became progressively more disrespectful and demeaning towards Mark.
