Deel’s PR head exits as espionage scandal rocks HR tech firm
Elisabeth Diana leaves company amid allegations CEO recruited a spy inside rival Rippling.
Elisabeth Diana, who led communications at HR tech unicorn Deel, has quietly exited the company amid escalating allegations of corporate espionage involving its leadership. Her LinkedIn profile confirms she left the company in April 2025, marking the end of a tenure that began in November 2021.
Diana’s departure, first reported by Bloomberg, comes at a turbulent time for Deel. The company is now embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with rival Rippling, which accuses Deel of orchestrating a covert scheme to steal confidential business information.
At the center of the controversy is Keith O’Brien, a former Rippling payroll manager who claims in a sworn affidavit that Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz personally recruited him to act as an undercover source. “Alex told me he ‘had an idea,’” O’Brien testified. “He suggested I stay at Rippling and become a ‘spy’ for Deel, and I recall him specifically mentioning James Bond.”
According to court documents filed in Dublin’s High Court, O’Brien alleges that he regularly passed internal Rippling documents, strategies, and customer information to Deel, often at Bouaziz’s request. He also claims to have been compensated with $6,000 per month, and remained in contact with Philippe Bouaziz—Alex’s father and Deel’s CFO—throughout the scheme.
The affidavit includes alarming details about how Deel allegedly attempted to cover its tracks. O’Brien says that after Rippling confronted him with suspicions, he performed a factory reset on his phone while hiding in a bathroom, later destroying the device and discarding it down a drain. He also says Deel offered to relocate him and his family to Dubai and cover his legal expenses. Deel has denied all wrongdoing and has not yet formally responded to the claims in court.
While the company faces mounting legal pressure, Diana’s quiet departure raises questions about internal reactions to the case. Before joining Deel, she led communications at Instagram and previously held a senior communications role at Facebook.
The company has yet to address whether Diana’s resignation is related to the growing scandal. However, the timing underscores the potential fallout for Deel’s leadership team as the legal battle unfolds.
