Were you bothered by the BP CEO’s sexual relations?

The fallout from the sudden resignation of Bernard Looney, CEO of British energy giant British Petroleum (BP), four days ago continues.

In the agency’s news about his resignation, information was shared that he “resigned following allegations regarding his personal relationships with colleagues,” but no details were included about the relationships in question.

Last year, an investigation was launched against Looney for his relationships with his colleagues and it was decided that “there was no violation of the company’s rules of conduct.”

BP’s statement on the resignation said: “The company has strong values ​​and the board expects everyone in the company to act in accordance with these values. “In particular, all leaders are expected to act as role models and act with prudence so as to earn the trust of others.

WHY DID YOU RESIGN?

A remarkable analysis on the subject was published yesterday in the British newspaper Financial Times under the title “Magical thoughts about sex, lies and the behavior of CEOs.”

In the analysis signed by the newspaper’s editor and columnist, Brooke Masters, it is stated that the #MeToo movement, developed against harassment, has been effective in CEO changes in recent years, that the personal relationships of senior executives, Whether sexual or not, they are increasingly being scrutinized by corporate boards, and last year, the most prominent issue in the US was that half of CEO firing decisions were reported. Among the 3,000 largest companies were related to abuse in personal relationships, and this rate was 14 percent in 2017.

‘OFFICIAL GUARANTEE WAS GIVEN’

Claiming that Looney lost his job not because of his sexual relationships but because of the lies he told, the author said: “The investigation that led to his resignation showed that the company spoke with him for the third time about his personal relationships with his colleagues. “Investors who spoke to the Financial Times said this issue was raised when he was appointed chief executive in 2019.”

The author claimed that the first investigation was opened last year and concluded that Looney, who spent his entire career at BP and was single for most of that time, did not violate company policy. He wrote that he wanted “an official guarantee in writing that there is no problem or that it is not a problem” and that when a new complaint came, it was the end of the road for Looney. In its resignation statement, the company already admitted that Looney’s previous statements were not completely transparent.

DEPARTURE OF MCDONALD’S CEO

Recalling that former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook left the company in 2019, receiving compensation of approximately $40 million after confessing that he had “recently had a consensual relationship” and requesting privacy, the author explained what happened to continued as follows:

“A year later, the fast food company sued its former boss, alleging three more sexual encounters and that he lied to the board, deleted sexually explicit images from his work phone and approved stock donations to one of the people involved. Easterbrook then agreed to return more than $105 million in cash and stock, and received an administrative fine for lying to investors.”

‘THE SYSTEM UNHEATS CEOS’

The following statements were included in the rest of the article:

“Good decision-making is a social activity, but the system deifies CEOs and is designed to suppress dissent,” says corporate philosopher Roger Steare. Steare argues that boards should spend more time examining the moral character of those they promote and testing how potential CEOs respond to personal pressures.

Boards and executives more accustomed to focusing on numbers and strategy may find this change disruptive. But it is better to talk about character before senior management than to talk about sex afterwards.”