Family’s fury as AA sacks ‘mentally ill’ boss for misconduct
‘He is very unwell’
THE AA sacked its boss for gross misconduct yesterday, sparking a row with his family. Relatives said Bob Mackenzie was suffering from mental illness.
Mr Mackenzie, 64, was last night understood to be acutely ill in a hospital. His departure as chief of the 112-year-old motoring organisation came as a shock to staff.
The news of his removal triggered a 14 per cent dive in the price of AA shares, wiping £209million off the value of the company.
In an announcement to the stock market, the AA claimed that Mr Mackenzie, the firm’s executive chairman, had been fired for gross misconduct with immediate effect.
One City insider said there could now be legal proceedings. But Mr Mackenzie’s family contradicted the AA’s statement, saying he had resigned that morning.
His son Peter said: ‘ This is an extremely distressing mental health issue.
‘My father tendered his resignation this morning and resigned his directorships due to acute ill health, from which he has been suffering symptoms for some time.
‘A consultant clinical psychologist advised him last week that he needed to take at least six months’ leave.
‘He is very unwell and has been admitted to hospital. The family trusts that all parties will act responsibly towards a loyal servant of the company in a manner which reflects the stress he has been suffering.’
Yesterday no family members were at Mr Mackenzie’s home, a large gated property hidden behind trees in an affluent village near Kenilworth,The house, which Warwickshire.has nine bedrooms, is thought to be worth around £1.7million. Mr Mackenzie, a married father of five, has been head of the AA since it listed on the stock market three years ago with a valuation of around £1.4billion. Last year he earned £1.6million for his role. News of his departure came as the AA told the stock market that its financial performance has been hit by ‘erratic workload patterns’ as it failed to book roadside patrols adequately to match demand. An urgent staff meeting is understood to be scheduled today at the firm’s office in Basingstoke, Hampshire, to reassure employees.
In a statement, the AA said: ‘ Bob Mackenzie has been removed by the board from his role as executive chairman, from his other roles and as a director and as an employee of the company, for gross misconduct, with immediate effect.’ Mr Mackenzie previously served as head of National Car Parks and shipping firm Sea Containers.
He grew up in Coventry, attended Trent Polytechnic and started his career as an accountant at KPMG. Mr Mackenzie’s duties as chairman will be taken over by John Leach, previously a nonexecutive director at the AA.
Simon Breakwell, another non-executive who also works at investment firm TCV, will become acting chief executive. As well as spending ten years on the board of Expedia, he also set up the European operations for taxi hailing company Uber.