RBS gives top job to a woman... along with a £1m payday
But Alison Rose walks straight into a row over Thomas Cook
ROYAL Bank of Scotland yesterday named a woman as its first female boss in its 292-year history.
Alison Rose started her career at the bank as a graduate trainee and has risen through the ranks over a 27-year career.
The mother of two has become the first female chief executive of one of Britain’s big four banks – RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds.
She will be taking over from Ross McEwan, who is due to join National Australia Bank as chief executive, on November 1.
Ms Rose, 49, will receive more money than her predecessor, with an annual salary of £1.1million, compared with Mr McEwan’s £1million.
RBS chairman Howard Davies said: ‘Following a rigorous internal and external process, I am confident that we have appointed the best person for the job.’
Ms Rose’s appointment marks a significant moment in British banking, an industry that has long been accused of being male-dominated.
In March, she produced a Government review calling for more help for female entrepreneurs.
However, several senior businesswomen in Scotland yesterday said gender discrimination and harassment towards women remains a major issue in the workplace.
Speaking at an event in Edinburgh for women in business, Lisa Thomas, chief brand officer for Virgin, called the pace of change ‘achingly slow’.
And Roisin Donnelly, non-executive director with companies including Holland & Barrett and Just Eat, said: ‘I was always very conscious that I was a woman and I worked harder... there’s a lot of work that has to be done.’
Ms Rose, who was the only woman in the room at her first meeting as a senior RBS executive, has been a vocal backer of efforts to get more women into senior business roles.
In March, she produced the Rose Review for the Government, which looked at the barriers preventing women from founding their own companies.
It called for more funding schemes to support female entrepreneurs and better support for those who juggled work with parenting.
The Durham University graduate had previously said she hoped to be a role model young women could look up to.
Speaking earlier this year, she said: ‘We have made great strides but there is still a long way to go. I do see myself as a positive role model and I hope that young women will aspire to reach the top.’
Ms Rose, who is married with a son and daughter, was born to a military family and spent much of her childhood abroad, living in Hong Kong and Singapore. Her family resettled in England after her father died when she was 15.
After completing her history degree in 1992, she took a graduate job at National Westminster Bank – now part of RBS – and worked her way up.
Her jobs have included running RBS’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business and she was chief executive of its commercial and private operations. She was also made deputy chief executive of Natwest in December.
Ms Rose was already considered one of the most powerful women in banking.
The most senior is currently Baroness Vadera, who chairs Santander UK.
Since RBS was bailed out by the UK taxpayer in 2008, it has massively scaled back its operations. However, it has been forced to deal with a series of scandals including regulator finesandrevelationsaboutitsnownotorious Global Restructuring Group, which was meant to help save struggling companies but actually worsened their plight with huge fees.
‘Best person for the job’ PAGE 105
ALISON Rose has become the first woman to run one of Britain’s ‘big four’ banks – walking straight into a furious row over travel firm Thomas Cook.
Having joined Royal Bank of Scotland as a graduate trainee, the 49-year-old has now landed the top job at the state-backed lender.
This will make her one of the most powerful figures in the City and one of only six women to lead a FTSE 100 company. The other five are Carolyn McCall at ITV; Liv Garfield at Severn Trent; Alison Cooper at Imperial Brands; Alison Brittain at Whitbread and Glaxo’s Emma Walmsley.
When Rose, pictured, takes the helm on November 1, the self-confessed workaholic and mother of two will be awarded a package of up to £4.3m.
This includes a basic salary of £1.1m, around £100,000 more than the man she is replacing, Ross McEwan, after his five and a half years in charge.
Classed by RBS as a ‘good leaver’, having steered the bank back to profit, McEwan is in line to receive up to £7.8m from long-term share bonuses.
Rose is currently the chief executive of the bank’s commercial and private banking arm as well as deputy chief executive of Natwest Holdings.
Commissioned by the Treasury last year to lead a review into the barriers facing female entrepreneurs, she described her appointment as an ‘honour’. But as RBS boss she faces a backlash over the future of Thomas Cook, which is fighting to survive.
Having received a £46bn taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis, RBS has already become a lightning rod for criticism. Now it is one of ten lenders threatening to pull the plug on a rescue deal unless Thomas Cook comes up with £200m.
Other lenders involved include Lloyds and Italy’s Unicredit.
But one travel industry source has described RBS as the ‘main protagonist’ turning the screws on Thomas Cook and its biggest shareholder, Chinese conglomerate Fosun. The banks’ demand for £200m was only issued last week, and is on top of the £900m rescue package cobbled together by banks and shareholders over the summer.
Thomas Cook, whose share price plunged another 22.8pc yesterday, may collapse as soon as tomorrow if the extra money is not found. The failure of the 178year-old travel firm would trigger the loss of up to 9,000 jobs in the UK and throw the holiday plans of hundreds of thousands of customers into turmoil.
Last night, an RBS source dismissed claims that it was the driving force behind the £200m ultimatum. The source also said that another firm – not a bank – had agreed to provide a ‘significant’ portion of the £200m, but had pulled its support in recent days. This was dismissed by Thomas Cook.
RBS said: ‘As one of a number of lenders, RBS has provided considerable support to Thomas Cook over many years and continues to work with all parties in order to try and find a resolution to the funding and liquidity shortfall at Thomas Cook.’