A private equity firm owned by members of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s family has been named in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging a Kentucky bourbon CEO called a female executive a “pushy bitch” as he pushed out a half dozen women from senior jobs at the company.
Sylvia E. Sanders, 62, alleged in a lawsuit filed Feb. 14 in Nelson County state court that Mark Erwin, chief executive at Bardstown Bourbon Co., engaged in “widespread discriminatory animus and slurs,” “improper protected classification jokes and commentary,” and “blatant racism, ageism and sexist/gender bias.”
Bardstown Bourbon Company is a Kentucky-based distillery that in 2022 was acquired by Pritzker Private Capital, the Chicago private equity firm co-founded and chaired by Tony Pritzker, the cousin of JB Pritzker.
Sanders’s attorney, James Morris, told The Post that when his client escalated her complaints to Pritzker leadership, the firm responded by flying down to the bourbon distillery’s offices in Kentucky and physically escorting her from the premises.
“They flew in within … 36 hours and walked her out,” Morris said.
While the governor is not involved in Pritzker Private Capital’s day-to-day operations, the company is part of the broader Pritzker family business empire, which includes the Hyatt hotel chain.
The firm acquired Bardstown Bourbon in 2022 and oversees it through its holding company, Lofted Spirits.
Bardstown Bourbon said the claims have no merit, while Pritzker Private Capital didn’t respond for comment.
According to the complaint, the alleged misconduct included Erwin referring to marketing director Laurel Altman as a “pushy bitc…” before correcting himself to say “pushy woman,” and later describing other senior women in similar terms.
The complaint alleges that a company photo shoot featuring country music star Brad Paisley became a flashpoint in Altman’s firing.
During a promotional event for Paisley’s bourbon brand, American Highway Reserve, which was launched in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Company, Erwin allegedly called Altman “pushy” after she attempted to sit between Erwin and the country music star during a photo shoot, the suit states.
Sanders characterized the episode as part of a broader pattern in which senior women were labeled “pushy” or “emotional” while male counterparts were not disciplined in similar fashion.
Altman was later terminated, the complaint states, and replaced by another woman who was also ultimately pushed out.
The filing — first reported on by the Lexington Herald-Leader — claims at least a half-dozen female executives were fired or driven to resign between 2021 and 2024, including the company’s chief financial officer, vice president of hospitality and vice president of contract sales.
In a separate report, the Herald-Leader cited former national brand ambassador Samantha Montgomery, who said she filed a 2021 complaint alleging then-marketing chief Herb Heneman used anti-gay slurs, pressured a younger female employee to drink at a company event and engaged in reckless behavior.
Montgomery said she faced retaliation after reporting the conduct and that other women had also lodged complaints, echoing allegations in the broader whistleblower lawsuit describing a culture of bullying, discrimination and retaliation against female employees.
Sanders served as Bardstown Bourbon’s vice president of human resources from 2019 until her termination in May 2024 and held an equity stake in the company.
In that role, she was responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination and compliance policies and reporting misconduct to senior leadership, including Erwin, Marino and Brickman.
Morris told The Post his client would be seeking $10 million in damages, in addition to attorneys’ fees and “whatever punitive damages the jury would award,” arguing the case involves systemic discrimination and retaliation at the highest levels of the company.
Morris said Sanders raised her concerns internally to Erwin, Marino and Brickman before sending an eight-page memo after Erwin solicited complaints from senior staff.
The other individuals named in the lawsuit, including Erwin, company president Peter Marino, holding company Lofted Spirits and Pritzker Private Capital operating partner Christian Brickman, were not immediately available for comment.
