Troubled CBI’s last-ditch bid for survival
Scandal-hit lobby group to shake up board and axe jobs as president is told to quit early
tHe CBi has announced sweeping plans to overhaul its board and hire a new president as the business lobby group fights for survival after a damaging sex harassment scandal.
the beleaguered group is urging members to back its plans at an emergency general meeting which is to be held next week.
Yesterday it said Brian mcBride, who has been president since the summer of 2022, could leave as soon as January next year, which is five months before his term ends.
And four members of the CBi’s board are also being replaced.
Ffion Hague, a corporate governance expert and the wife of the former Conservative leader Lord Hague, will carry out a review of the way the organisation is run.
With 190,000 members, the Confederation of British industry boasts of influencing the Government on policies such as Covid support packages that helped many companies to survive Covid lockdowns.
But the organisation has been beset by shocking claims of vile behaviour, including rape allegations that are being investigated by police.
However in an announcement on its future plans yesterday, while acknowledging the need for change, the body said it had been cleared by independent experts of the suggestion that it had a ‘toxic culture’.
the ‘ prospectus’ said that the CBi wanted to return to its position as the representative of all types of business to the Government.
that prestige has disappeared after the sickening claims about goingson at the organisation surfaced earlier this year – prompting an exodus of big- name companies from Aviva to John Lewis.
And the Government has since snubbed the CBi.
Chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt said last month that there was ‘ no point’ talking to it after companies deserted it in droves. it remains to be seen whether changes announced yesterday will be enough to convince companies to return. members will be asked in next week’s vote whether the changes that have been made ‘give you the confidence you need to support the CBi’. the organisation is also reportedly prep a r i n g to announce redundancies – after the funding blow caused by the loss of dozens of companies and their annual subscriptions.
it has told members that if it wins their backing the body can regain a place at the top table with ministers, advising on policy and lobbying over election manifesto commitments.
Next week’s crunch emergency general meeting, in which voting has already begun, comes after the CBi paused public activities in the wake of the scandal.
the organisation has spent the last couple of months seeking the views of 1,000 business leaders on its future. the CBi said it had found that they wanted to see a ‘strong, collective, national voice
of business’ established ahead of a general election which is likely to take place next year.
insiders are understood to be frustrated that the British Chambers of Commerce, a rival business lobby group, appears to have been trying to take over that role.
CBi director-general Rain Newton-smith said: ‘our members and colleagues have spoken. We have listened, we have acted and we are taking accountability.
‘We shall learn the lessons and emerge from this as a stronger organisation, one that is able to share what we’ve learnt and regain the right to always be a trusted voice.’