City boss steps aside in ‘bullying’ mutiny
Accountacy firm executive apologises to staff then takes leave of absence as fresh allegations are made
A MUTINY over alleged bullying at one of Britain’s largest accountancy firms has prompted a powerful executive to step down from his job.
Sanjay Thakkar agreed yesterday to take a leave of absence from his role at KPMG after a number of colleagues claimed he had bullied them for years, sources said. Last week, The Daily Telegraph reported how two high-flying women had resigned after accusing the company of failing to properly punish Mr Thakkar, who sits on the executive committee. At least two other formal complaints had been made about his behaviour.
At the time, a spokesman said that the 50-year-old London-based head of deal advisory had kept his job because his actions had not amounted to misconduct. But as a result of the article, more colleagues came forward with claims of their own. Others informed bosses that they were unhappy with how complaints had been handled, multiple sources said.
Mr Thakkar attempted to calm the storm on Friday afternoon by emailing an apology to every member of his team. But a spokesman confirmed yesterday that KPMG had decided over the weekend to launch an investigation.
Yesterday, Mr Thakkar agreed to step aside from his role and take a leave of absence until a final decision is made about his future.
It comes amid a crisis over alleged bullying at Britain’s so-called Big Four accountancy firms, with dozens of male partners reportedly forced out for harassing their female colleagues.
Last night, a senior source at KPMG accused the firm of having known about Mr Thakkar’s alleged inappropriate behaviour “for years”. “It’s been raised again and again, but nothing has been done,” the source said. “I know a lot of senior people whose careers were made a misery by this man. He’s been allowed to operate as a dictator, threatening the sack and belittling people in front of others. It’s disgusting.
“It’s been going on for so long. Everyone knew about him. And the complainants are hardly shrinking violets – they are hard-nosed businesspeople who are used to striking deals across the world. KPMG only decided to act when these complaints appeared in the newspaper. That’s just not good enough.”
A biography on the KPMG website says that Mr Thakkar joined the company in 1991 and later spent 18 months in Silicon Valley “during the dotcom boom”. He became a UK partner in 2005, and has since become the only ethnic minority member of the 14-strong executive committee.
Last week, it was revealed that two female executives, Maggie Brereton and Ina Kjaer, had quit the company after making complaints about their treatment at his hands.
A source close to the women said yesterday that they were “pleased” that a new investigation had been launched.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm KPMG has launched an investigation into new allegations made against Sanjay Thakkar, reported to the firm’s leadership last week. As this investigation is now live, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further. Sanjay has stepped down from his role ... with immediate effect. Melanie Richards, our deputy chair will assume the role of acting head of deal advisory, in addition to her existing role, pending the appointment of new leadership.”