Embattled indie ad agency Madwell will close its doors for good at 11:59 pm Eastern tonight (April 30).
In an email sent to staffers at 8:30 pm Wednesday, obtained by ADWEEK, the agency’s CEO Chris Sojka said: “Madwell will be ceasing operations at 11:59 pm tonight. A small team will work to unwind various aspects of the business over the next 2 weeks, tending to the obligations they are able to. The past two pay cycles (4/15 and 4/30), as well as reimbursements, will be paid out from our final receivables. We will be covering health benefits for all Madwellians until the end of May.”
The email echoes claims Sojka had previously made in litigation against his former business partners.
ADWEEK was unable to verify the veracity of those claims.
One of those former partners, David Eisenman, shared a statement with ADWEEK: “Chris’s accusations simply aren’t true. At this point, they seem like a last-ditch attempt to shift blame for the damage he’s caused. The court records, evidence, and reporting speak for themselves. I truly feel for everyone impacted by his well-documented mismanagement and reckless decisions, and I hope they’re able to recover what they’re owed.”
The company’s former CFO did not respond to ADWEEK’s request for comment in time for publication.
Sojka’s message to staff follows an email he sent Monday to Bank of America where he wrote that the agency would cease operations because “Madwell cannot survive the magnitude of the debts” it owes.
Read the text of the full email Sojka sent to staff below:
Madwellians,
I spent the morning meeting with authorities, who came to Porter at my invitation. We walked them through the results of our work reconstructing what actually occurred inside of this company at the hands of its former Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers.
