Home » Spotlight • US business news » Fake degrees and claiming to be a chef at the White House: Executives who lied on their resumes
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Have you ever lied on your resume?
Or have you received applications from candidates who may have "exaggerated" claims about their qualifications and achievements?
Well, don't feel bad if you have lied because you'll be pleased to know that some of the top CEOs and celebrities have done the same.
Ronald L.Zarrella is CEO of Bausch & Lomb.
Bausch & Lomb is an eye health products business based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada.
Zarella had worked at this company for 11 months until he was caught out for lying on his resume.
His resume declared that he had finished a Master's degree in business administration from New York University.
But, you guessed it, he never actually finished the degree.
When it was discovered he had lied, shares went down in heavy trading.
However, the Bausch & Lomb board decided to support their CEO based on his proven management skills.
Scott Thompson was the CEO of yahoo.
In 2012, it was discovered that Thompson lied about his university qualifications.
His resume stated he had done a Computer Science and Accounting degree.
However, it transpired he had only completed the former.
Instead of owning up, he tried to blame a headhunting firm he worked with.
When this was also found to be a lie, he was made to resign after just 130 days on the job.
He doesn't work for the company anymore but obtained compensation of more than $7.3 million from Yahoo.
He now works as the CEO of an online shopping service, ShopRunner.
Robert Irvine is the author and TV chef for the Food Network.
His show "Dinner: Impossible" first came out in 2007, in which Robert Irvine was depicted as a 'culinary James Bond.'
On Irvine's website, he claimed he had been cooking since he was 15 when he joined the Royal Navy and had a Bachelor of Science in food and nutrition from Leeds University.
However, it was learned that Leeds University had no record of being connected with the chef.
This is one of many lies he made up.
Irvine also shared a personal story about himself working on Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake.
But, n fact, he had only gone to the same school where it was made.
Some of his claims were extraordinary.
He claimed to be a chef at the White House, being awarded a Chef's Five Star Diamond Award, and being a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
As a result, the Food Network took down Irvine's biography from its website, and Michael Symon eventually replaced him.
In 2008, a network spokesperson said: "It's unfortunate if Robert embellished the extent of his culinary experiences.
"We are investigating the matter and taking the necessary steps to ensure the accuracy of all representations of Robert on Food Network and foodnetwork.com."
He later said: "When I first came down there and I met people down there with all this money, it was like trying to keep up with the Joneses.
"I was sitting in a bar one night and that came out. It was stupid."
Irvine did work for the Royal family, but as a chef on the royal yacht Britannia.
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