Rain Newton-Smith has taken over as director-general of the CBI as the business lobby continues to deal with accusations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct.
Newton-Smith previously worked at the CBI as an employee and executive board member, and was at one point its chief economist. She moved to Barclays in March, but returns to the troubled organisation today (26 April) in a bid to save its reputation.
This morning, Newton-Smith said she was “profoundly sorry” for how the CBI let down the courageous women who had come forward.
You will have heard about the crisis that has shocked & saddened us all at the CBI. I want to recognise the courage of the women who came forward & say how profoundly sorry I am for how our organisation let you down. I hope to reward your bravery by finding a better path forward.
— Rain Newton-Smith (@RainNewtonSmith) April 26, 2023
In a series of tweets, she added: “We know there is so much to do to win back the trust of our members, our colleagues and wider society. But I believe in the work of the CBI and our people, and I am determined to rebuild and reimagine our organisation to regain that trust.”
In an open letter published this week, CBI president Brian McBride said the organisation had been complacent and that its “systems of culture management, harm prevention and eradication were insufficient”.
The previous director-general, Tony Danker, was dismissed after the board found his conduct had fallen short of expectations. Danker himself had faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards female colleagues, but these were not linked to his dismissal, the CBI said.
Elsewhere in the organisation, there have been two allegations of rape by employees, leading to a police investigation, and law firm Fox Williams was brought in to carry out an independent investigations into a series of allegations of sexual harassment. These were not related to Danker.
Newton-Smith’s appointment was criticised yesterday by City fund manager Baroness Helena Morrissey, however. She said: “I’m sure she is wonderful in lots of respects but it doesn’t quite cut the mustard if you’re trying to show that you’re embracing a new approach to all of this.”
She added that the group’s actions had been “too little too late”, and said the business group was “finished.”
A growing number of companies have terminated or suspended their membership of the CBI in reaction to the allegations.
These include John Lewis, BMW, Aviva, Virgin Media O2, Mastercard and ITV.
Upon the recommendations of Fox Williams, the CBI has said it will now operate a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and bullying behaviour, and that all staff and board members will undertake compulsory training covering bullying and harassment prevention.
A new chief people officer will be recruited from outside of the CBI, it said.
Michelle Last, employment partner at Keystone Law, said it was too late for the organisation to introduce “tokenistic” gestures given the severity of the allegations.
She said: “An employer can only take a zero-tolerance approach where they have properly investigated and upheld the allegations.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
“Engaging a law firm to carry out an independent review and dismissing a few token perpetrators might seek to give the impression action has been taken, but many of those who remain in the organisation will have been involved in the culture that allowed this conduct to occur.”
Change management opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more Change management jobs
