- Martin Bally, Campbell's CIO, placed on leave after lawsuit alleges racist comments and food insults
- Former employee Robert Garza claims he was fired after reporting Bally's derogatory remarks to HR
- Audio recording reveals Bally's expletive-laden criticism of Campbell's food and Indian employees
A high-ranking IT executive at an American company has been placed on leave after a lawsuit was filed alleging he made derogatory comments about the company's food being for "poor people" and containing "bioengineered meat". Martin Bally, Campbell vice president and chief information officer, also made derogatory comments about Indian employees, calling them "idiots."
The lawsuit was filed by Robert Garza, a former cybersecurity analyst for the company, who claims he was terminated after attempting to report Bally's comments to human resources. He claimed was fired just 20 days after reporting Bally's racist and derogatory comments to his manager, J.D. Aupperle. Garza then provided an audio recording to the media that allegedly contains Bally's expletive-filled remarks, which also included claims that he often came to work high after consuming marijuana edibles.
"We have s*** for f**king poor people," Martin Bally allegedly said in the recording, as quoted by Detroit-based news station WDIV. "Who buys our s***? I don't buy Campbell's products barely anymore. It's not healthy now that I know what the f***'s in it."
"Bioengineered meat — I don't wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer," he added.
There are also allegations that Martin Bally made racist comments about Indian employees, and expressed dislike for working with them.
"F---ing Indians don't know a f---ing thing. Like they couldn't think for their f---ing selves", the recording said in part.
In response, Campbell's issued a statement calling the alleged comments "unacceptable," "inaccurate," and "patently absurd". The company told CBS News that the language does not reflect its values and that the alleged comments were made by an IT employee with no involvement in food production. The company also emphasised that it uses "100 percent real chicken in our soups", and takes pride in providing "good food at a good value" to consumers.
"If the comments were in fact made, they are unacceptable. They do not reflect our values and the culture of our company. We were not aware of the recording. We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it and the high-quality ingredients we use. The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate — they are patently absurd," the company said, adding that Bally is currently on leave as it conducts an investigation.
Garza, who filed the lawsuit, described Bally as having "no filter" and believing he's above the rules because of his executive position at a Fortune 500 company.
Who Is Martin Bally?
Martin Bally is the Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at The Campbell Soup Company, with over 23 years of experience in cybersecurity. He joined Campbell's in January 2022, bringing his expertise from previous roles at American Axle & Manufacturing, Diebold Nixdorf, ZF Group, and Stellantis, where he served as Global CISO.
Bally holds a Master of Science in Information Assurance from Norwich University and studied business at Monroe County Community College. He's been recognized as one of the top 100 CISOs by Cyber Defense Magazine in 2020 and 2023.
