The new boss of the Confederation of British Industry has apologised to the victims of sexual misconduct at the business lobby group, saying she is “profoundly sorry” and that she wants to “recognise the courage of the women who came forward”.
Rain Newton-Smith, a former chief economist at the CBI, has returned to take the helm as the group fights for survival amid the fallout from a series of sexual misconduct allegations reported by the Guardian.
In a series of tweets published on the morning of her first day as director general, Newton-Smith said she believed in the CBI’s work and was determined to “rebuild and reimagine” the organisation.
“You will have heard about the crisis that has shocked & saddened us all at the CBI,” she wrote. “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.”
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
The CBI’s longest-serving chief economist, Newton-Smith held the post until March, when she briefly left to join Barclays as a managing director working on governance strategy. She replaces Tony Danker, who was sacked earlier this month after separate allegations of misconduct were made against him.
Appointed without an open recruitment process, and having held a senior role at the organisation before her departure, she faces an uphill battle to convince critics that she can turn a fresh page, and implement the radical changes needed to restore confidence. The government has paused all interaction with the CBI until its problems are resolved, while over 50 large businesses, including John Lewis and NatWest, have suspended or cancelled their membership.
Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which represents a wide range of companies and has an extensive network in the nations and regions, is waiting in the wings.
The BCC president, technology entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, has indicated that it is ready to step in. She told the BBC this week: “There are phenomenally strong business networks that can do the job of working together and representing themselves into government.”
Staff at the CBI, which employs 300 people, are growing increasingly concerned about the risk of job losses. Fears remain despite some reassurances that there would be no immediate job cuts in response to questions at an all-hands meeting on Monday.
Membership fees from businesses contribute the lion’s share of the CBI’s income – £22m of its £25m revenues in 2021. On Monday, CBI president Brian McBride told the Daily Telegraph that he foresaw a slimmed-down body if it survives past an extraordinary general meeting planned for June. “I think it’s likely to be smaller, because we’ll have less revenue. We’ll have to cut accordingly,” he told the newspaper.
Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of GSK, Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker, became the latest industry leader to air concerns on Wednesday, condemning the allegations as “extremely shocking” and “pretty repulsive”.
Speaking during a financial results call for her firm, Walmsley said: “I want to reiterate for GSK and for me personally: we have a categoric zero-tolerance approach to any form of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Walmsley said GSK would reassess its decision to pause its CBI membership in the coming months once the organisation had taken “corrective action”, adding: “They need and absolutely must implement steps to drive profound change at pace carefully and thoroughly.”
Danker said in an interview with the BBC last week that he felt he had been “the fall guy” for allegations unrelated to his own conduct and that his reputation had been “trashed”.
