To say that Geoff Wilson was unimpressed with the way beleaguered wealth management firm AMP handled the resignation of its chief executive earlier this month is something of an understatement.
“Disgraceful” and “disappointing” are words the founder and chairman of Wilson Asset Management uses to describe the affair.
On March 25, The Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window column reported that AMP chief Francesco De Ferrari would resign from the company that day. Late that afternoon the company issued a statement to the ASX saying that De Ferrari, who joined AMP in late 2018, remained group CEO. On March 26, AMP followed up with a statement saying that the board and the CEO were “working together and constructively discussing the future strategy and leadership of the group”, noting that the discussions were “ongoing”.
Less than a week later it emerged that De Ferrari would be replaced by ANZ deputy CEO Alexis George.
To Wilson’s mind, the lack of transparency was gob-smacking.
Read more in the Australian Financial Review.