A report from RNZ Business (New Zealand) says the new chief executive of NZ Muscle, Dave Letele, is facing death threats while he works to “save” the business. The company’s situation has also drawn an escalating storm of social media attention, prompting a plea for calm.
For small- and mid-sized business owners, this is a reminder that reputation risk can move quickly from controversy to real-world harm. When online discourse intensifies, it can distract leadership, disrupt day-to-day decisions, and create uncertainty for staff, suppliers, and customers—especially at a time when the business is already under pressure.
The practical takeaway is to treat high-visibility online conflict as an operational issue, not just a communications problem. Leaders may need clear internal procedures for responding to hostile messages, protecting employees, and maintaining consistent, factual messaging—while also focusing on the fundamentals that keep a firm running.
It also highlights why governance matters during a crisis: decisions about public statements, moderation, and platform engagement should be coordinated and documented. That helps avoid improvisation that can inflame tensions further, while ensuring the business can continue managing customer relationships and core operations.
In the near term, the most constructive signal in the report is the CEO’s call for calm—an attempt to bring attention back to stabilizing the business rather than escalating hostility.
Source: RNZ Business (New Zealand)
