RBS Executive Leaves After Snapchat Photos Become Known
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Rory Cullinan, the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland's investment bank, will leave the company by agreement. The news followed shortly after Snapchat images became publicly known.
Last year, Cullinan sent his daughter Snapchats with captions saying, "Not a fan of board meetings xx," "Boring meeting xx," and "Another friggin meeting." Snapchats don't last-unless, of course, someone takes a screenshot and posts them to Instagram, as his daughter did, with the message, "Happy Father's Day to the indisputable king of Snapchat."
Cullinan was with the bank for six years but in his current role for only two months. The Telegraph reported that critics didn't think McEwan took his role seriously, particularly because the bank is mostly owned by the government. RBS CEO Ross McEwan gave this statement:
"We would like to express our thanks to Rory for his very significant contribution to the rebuild of RBS over the past 6 years. He has built and led APS, Non-Core, RCR and recently completed the very successful follow-on sale of Citizens post its IPO last year. We wish him every success in the future."
Cullinan said, "I am pleased and proud to have played a significant part in restoring RBS to a safe and sound agenda over the past 6 years. I wish all my colleagues continued success."
In his defense, someone wrote on the Telegraph site: "Personally I think any sane well adjusted adult would find those sort of meetings boring. If there any grounds for criticism it is that he didn't cut the number of unnecessary meetings typical in large banks."
Discussion Starters:
- Was it the right decision for Cullinan to leave the bank after six years? Why or why not?
- What's your view of the comment about boring meetings in large banks?
- In what ways, if at all, does it matter that the bank is mostly government owned?
- Does anyone else find it strange for a father to send such messages to his daughter and for her to post them on Instagram?
