In this 2017 file photo, Hydro Flask Marketing Director Yiorgos Makris gives a tour of the Hydro Flask headquarters in Bend.
In this 2017 file photo, Hydro Flask Marketing Director Yiorgos Makris gives a tour of the Hydro Flask headquarters in Bend.
A former social media coordinator for Hydro Flask is suing the Bend-based bottle-maker, alleging her boss harassed her over a 3-year period, while upper management supported him.
Kelli Delperdang was hired as a social media coordinator in August 2016, and terminated by the company in November 2020.
She alleges in a lawsuit, filed Monday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, that she was wrongfully terminated after her manager subjected her to sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, gender discrimination and retaliation.
Delperdang, 32, is seeking $241,000 in damages.
Hydro Flask Marketing Director Yiorgos Makris is named as a party in the lawsuit. A company representative said this week that Makris was still with the company. He did not return phone calls or an email.
Hydro Flask hired Makris in 2017 as director of marketing. He’d previously worked as a marketing supervisor for Icebreaker, Columbia and Salomon.
Delperdang said Makris routinely bullied her in public, around the office and in meetings, according to the lawsuit. She states she received several years worth of positive performance reviews and was on track to receive a promotion until Makris, and Operational Director Lucas Alberg, subjected her to negative performance reviews in retaliation for her filing a complaint against Makris with human resources.
The suit alleges several female employees resigned from the company due to Makris’ alleged conduct.
“(W)orking conditions due to the discrimination and retaliation were so intolerable that a reasonable person in her circumstances would have resigned,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit states that in 2018 and 2020, three male Hydro Flask employees filed complaints with human resources officials stating they witnessed Makris harass Delperdang and other female employees.
The first instance described in the lawsuit occurred in December 2017 on a work trip to Hawaii. She states Makris interrupted a conversation among employees to make a lewd comment regarding her necklace. “This comment made (Delperdang) feel very uncomfortable and powerless,” the lawsuit states.
She states that after Makris acted hostile toward her during a meeting, she filed a complaint with human resources, according to the lawsuit. She was told by the representative that her complaint would be investigated. She alleges it was never followed up.
About one month after she filed her complaint, Makris “accosted and yelled” at her in the middle of the marketing department. The yelling went on for several minutes and when she attempted to speak, Makris “interrupted her, raised his voice, and continued to yell at her,” the lawsuit states.
“This incident occurred in front of other employees in the Marketing Department. When Mr. Makris left, several employees approached (Delperdang) and asked if she was okay. (She) was shocked and felt humiliated and unsafe,” the lawsuit states.
In May 2020, Hydro Flask employee Mitch Loge filed a complaint with human resources officials alleging he was retaliated against. In his report, Loge stated he witnessed Makris and Alberg treat Delperdang unfairly.
“Mr. Loge informed HR that it was well known within the Marketing Department that Mr. Makris consistently harassed and treated Plaintiff unfairly,” the lawsuit states.
Delperdang states she was subject to unfair scrutiny and receiving “needs improvement” in her performance reviews despite hitting “every” performance metric.
In 2020, she was placed on a performance improvement plan twice. She told the human resources director she was being asked to do the jobs of three employees and was being set up to fail. She was terminated Nov. 3, 2020.
Founded around 2008 by Travis Rosbach and Cindy Morse, Hydro Flask’s sales skyrocketed around 2016, the same year it was sold to global consumer goods company Helen of Troy.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
You never reached out to me for a comment or to confirm the information you shared was even correct.
You publicly shared information that I documented with HR in confidence as I was concerned about the way Kelli was being treated. I would like access to the documents from which you pulled these quotes. You clearly wrote a trash article where you do not even have job titles correct and misrepresented the information. Way to go Garrett... Be a bigger person or at minimum get your facts straight.
Mr. Loge - Stories like these are most often sourced completely from filings made with the court. In this case a complaint filed with the Deschutes County Circuit Court, by Kelli's counsel. You can search for court documents at the link below. (Service is currently offline for the weekend.)
https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/records-calendars.aspx
This figure is begging for settlement! Why take the brand hit and then settle? And no one believes HofT will take creatives/marketing peeps and their slacks into discovery. Lol, that would be insane!! You can't even take creatives to HI obviously.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Get the Daily Headlines, delivered FREE to your inbox
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Help us learn how best to meet your needs by taking this short survey, and you'll be entered to win $100 in Old Mill District gift cards.
The Bulletin is surveying Central Oregonians about the news they read, watch and listen to, and their concerns and interests. We are seeking to understand the communities we cover every day so we can better serve the needs of our neighbors, readers and subscribers. What you care about, we care about.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!
Select any of the free newsletter below, enter your email address and click 'Sign Up."
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!
Start your day with our top stories in your inbox
Weekly information to help you Explore Central Oregon
Receive weekly entertainment news occurring in Central Oregon
Daily obituaries from Central Oregon
An independent source of exclusive news and insight about state government delivered conveniently by email each Friday to subscribers.
Explore more of Central Oregon with a subscription to The Bulletin.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Get the Daily Headlines, delivered FREE to your inbox
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!
Start your day with our top stories in your inbox
Receive weekly entertainment news occurring in Central Oregon
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.