Kathmandu. John Neil, the chief executive of London-based global financial services group Lloyds, has lost his job at another company after an investigation into his failure to disclose his personal relationships with fellow women.
American International Group Inc. (AIG), a U.S. reinsurance group, had announced plans to hire John Neal as its future president. However, the AIG has announced that it has terminated its contract with him after it was informed that his personal conduct was being investigated within the AIG.
Last week, AIG’s announcement stunned insurance industry observers and questioned why the $17 million (about Rs 24.3 million) salary job was lost without starting a job. But this week, however, they have received answers to media reports about the reason for this.
On Wednesday, Lodice said it had been investigating his conduct last month. Neil served as CEO of Lloyd’s, the insurance giant in London, until earlier this year. On Wednesday, AIG terminated its employment agreement with Neil as chairman. The decision centered on his alleged relationship with Lloyd’s employees.
Neil did not disclose that he was married to a junior woman at his company. Before joining a large corporate company, it is mandatory to disclose whether you have a personal or family or financial interest relationship with an employee. But Neil didn’t. Nine years ago, in 2016, he was involved in disciplinary action for the same issue and lost the amount of employee bonus.
Australian insurer QBE Insurance Group Limited had deducted Neil’s 2016 bonus after it was found that he had not disclosed his relationship with a junior employee. Bloomberg.com reported that the woman under suspicion had replaced Neil’s previous personal secretary at QBE Insurance Group after her marriage to Neil.
The incident highlights the complex nature of personal relationships in the workplace. Recent examples include losing CEOs at companies including Nestlé SA, Kohls Corporation and Astronomer. Andy Byrne lost his job in July after being caught “kissing cam” in the playground audience gallery with a co-worker at a Coldplay concert.
The cancellation of Neil’s appointment is also a prime example of how personal relationships can be deceived even by the world’s largest companies, where bringing in employees at the highest level with the condition that they meet their business goals.
