What the company allegedly told her team about her departure raises more questions
A senior Macquarie executive alleges she was terminated over Zoom while on maternity leave, weeks after her newborn was hospitalized in intensive care.
Ronalee Balog, former Head of Portfolio Performance Group in the Americas for Macquarie's infrastructure investment arm, filed suit on February 19, 2026, in the Southern District of New York. The case names nine Macquarie entities alongside CEO Karl Kuchel and Global Head of Real Assets Leigh Harrison as defendants. No determination has been made on the merits of the claims.
Balog joined Macquarie in or around March 2022, reporting directly to Kuchel. By her account, she consistently received strong performance reviews and was being groomed for a global leadership role. In her 2023 review, the company praised her "global leadership of the PPG" and encouraged her to ensure the global process model was followed. A senior managing director had been actively discussing with her the design and resourcing of the global team.
That trajectory, according to the filing, shifted after Balog became pregnant.
Balog had previously shared her IVF journey with Macquarie's Human Resources Leader, Cana Iwahara. She learned she was pregnant in or around December 2023. Then, on or about May 21, 2024, her domestic partner suddenly passed away.
The company granted Balog FMLA leave, though she alleges she continued working part-time throughout. Approximately one week after she returned, Kuchel and Harrison called her into a 7:30 a.m. Zoom meeting and told her the company was restructuring her role. An external hire would take the global position she had been preparing for. When she asked if she could apply, Harrison told her she was not permitted to do so.
Balog began maternity leave on or about August 21, 2024, and gave birth to her daughter the next day. Shortly after, her daughter was readmitted to the ICU with medical complications, and the company was informed of the hospitalization and the strong likelihood that the child would suffer from a medical disability.
On or about November 5, 2024, Kuchel requested another Zoom call. This time, he terminated her, citing a team restructuring. According to the filing, no one else on her team was affected.
What happened next adds another layer for HR leaders to consider. Rather than telling Balog's colleagues she had been let go as part of a restructuring, the company allegedly told them she was not returning due "to the emotional distress of her personal circumstances." The filing also alleges the company delayed providing information about her medical benefits at a time when her child's serious medical condition made them critical.
The case spans twelve causes of action across federal, state, and city law, alleging pregnancy and sex discrimination, associational disability discrimination, FMLA retaliation, hostile work environment, and wrongful termination. Balog is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, lost wages, and reinstatement, and has demanded a jury trial.
For HR professionals, the case reads as a cautionary sequence: a promotion track that reversed after a pregnancy, a termination during protected leave, and internal messaging that allegedly misrepresented the reason for departure. Each of those decisions, regardless of how this case resolves, will face scrutiny.
