The High Profiler

The high profiler...who is he/she? Well, the high profiler (according to me) is the employee who is not only an asset to a company but a public figure head as well. He/she makes public appearances, is well know in the community, and attracts a lot of media attention. So what happens if this said high profiler does something to attract negative attention to themself and ultimately the company they work for?
Scenario: high profiler has been arrested (use your imagination) and released. He is too important to fire but the media is all over the situation and what happened. Now the company has a decision to make: confront the media and try to "PR" the situation or turn a blind eye and let the whole thing blow over.
Think about what you would do if you were that company. If I were in charge of human resources or the public relations department, I would confront the situation head on. Since the employee is an important figure head, his/her reputation is going to affect the company. The media is going to look to the company for a response, even though they had nothing to do with the situation. However, questions like, "has this behavior been typical of him/her" "where does his/her future lie" etc. will never go away. The company could develop a bad reputation if they do not take responsibility and address the situation. The company needs to explain why the high profiler is still with the company, what are the consequences for his/her actions internally, what will he/she be doing to make it up to the public (e.g. volunteer work, etc), and an assurance that it will never happen again. While this may seem like a lot, a company needs to realize that what an employee does outside of work can affect them and they need to be ready with a response!
On the other hand, even if the company decided to fire this high profiler, they still should have a response prepared for the media/public. It is the professional thing to do.

Do you agree? Thoughts? What would you do if you were the aforementioned company?