Indian-origin man’s message to CEO leaves her fuming: ‘Be well sweetheart’

Louisa Klouda, a CEO, criticized Nirmal Patel for his misogynistic comment on LinkedIn, stating he prefers not to work with women.

A British CEO has slammed an Indian-origin professional for saying he does not work with women. Louisa Klouda, CEO of Fenchurch Legal, shared a screenshot of her exchange with Nirmal Patel, who informed her that he tends not to work with women before signing off with an unprofessional “Be well sweetheart.”

A UK CEO shared a screenshot of the misogynistic message she received (Representational image)

Patel describes himself on LinkedIn as an “Sfo deal syndicate middleman” based in London.

It is not clear who initiated the conversation between him and Klouda, but in December 2024, Patel sent Klouda a message saying, “Happy to take a call as I don’t like to connect without knowing the person.”

Not receiving a response, he sent a follow up message on January 6. This time, Patel just sent a single question mark.

This time, he received a response from the CEO of Fenchurch Legal, who typed: “Hi Nirmal, I hope you’re well. Happy new year.

“Would you be available for a teams call next week at some point?” she asked. “If so please share times & days that are convenient for you.”

This time, Nirmal Patel responded in a way that has been slammed as misogynistic and condescending by a large number.

“Thanks, as interesting and successful as your business is I tend not to work with women. Be well sweetheart,” he said.

Take a look at the post below:

Louisa Klouda, clearly fuming at the message, shared its screenshot on LinkedIn.

“Well, I woke up today and learned something groundbreaking: Some people still think women shouldn’t be in business. Wild. It’s 2025, we’ve got AI writing novels, people vacationing in space, and yet… here we are,” she wrote.

She was not alone in being enraged by the response. Dozens of people responded to her LinkedIn post criticising Patel.

“You really don't want to work with this guy. But shocking either way,” wrote one LinkedIn user.

“I believe this message constitutes harassment,” another wrote.