Meet the Main Man Responsible for Dov Charney's Firing

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You wouldn't be able to pick him out of a crowd, but Allan Mayer is one of the people responsible for firing the founder, CEO, and president of American Apparel, Dov Charney. Mayer stepped up to serve as co-chairman of the board after the firing, and he's also one of only two board members who will make it out alive after Charney laid waste to the rest of the board in the battle to regain power with his company. Bloomberg Businessweek profiled the man to find out just who Mayer is, and how he managed to weather all the American Apparel madness.

Mayer met Charney in 2004, after (surprise, surprise) a sex scandal surfaced where Charney masturbated in front of a Jane reporter during an interview. Mayer was in the business of crisis management and Charney needed tons of crisis management. Three years later, when American Apparel went public, Charney asked Mayer to join the company's board.

Mayer is no stranger to managing reputations, especially the famous kind. He's worked with Halle Berry, Rush Limbaugh, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, and Eminem, among others. "The celebrity scandals get the headlines," Mayer told Bloomberg Businessweek. "But they're the equivalent of one-night stands. You get the client out of trouble, and you move on. It's much more interesting and fun to have long-term relationships, to help people build something."

Currently he is the head of "strategic communications" at 42West, a well-known firm that specializes in entertainment PR. He counts the Winklevoss twins among his clients, where he's been tasked in getting them known for something other than The Social Network. However, when it came to finding a crisis management team for American Apparel, the company hired a rival firm.
· Allan Mayer Helped Take Down American Apparel Founder Dov Charney. Who's Allan Mayer? [Bloomberg]
· Meet the Man Who Fixes Retail CEO Disasters [Racked]
· Dov Charney's Sketchiness Tallied in Leaked Termination Letter [Racked]