To think the CEO caught at Coldplay resigning is a bit of a performance

[CEOhno]

I just... don't get it. I'm not condoning affairs but people do it all the time. I don't understand why they had to resign. Their personal lives deserve to blow up, of course, but it's a bit puritanical and false to pretend that, as a society, we care this much.

It doesn't affect their ability to do their jobs, if the cameras hadn't caught them there wouldn't have been nearly as much fuss. I hate the social media panic and showmanship.

He has a history of being a CEO at startups and draining them to nothing, so I doubt he would have stayed with this company long term regardless. He has enough personal wealth to move on from this.

My husband would NEVER go to a Coldplay concert.

An affair between a CEO & a head of HR should also lead to the resignation of both.

There is 100% conflict of interests, never mind the fact that both are in literally the two key roles in the company that have the ability to bring harm to the company, their shareholders and staff.

Having an affair shows you lack ethics, you are capable of deciept, manipulation, good decision making.

Then take into account this company was getting ready to go public. The amount of reputational harm it has caused both of their positions are completely untenable.

If you are stupid enough to go to a public event with your side piece then neither of them are clever enough to hold that level of responsibility.

100% agree with this.

🤔 Yes, the most salient and critical element here is definitely how fuckable the woman concerned - the board's only female member - is.

If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. We don’t need to work towards the lowest common denominator as the base level of social acceptability. It is all about personal integrity and both of them have none.

They were caught, bang to rights, in the most spectacular way bringing themselves and the company they work for, into disrepute. They are the only ones to blame for their downfall …not Coldplay, not the person behind the camera, just them and their duplicitous affair. Sadly, their ‘oops! moment’ will live forever.

The only people that have my sympathy are the innocent ones caught in the fall out.

I think this is probably the sticking point for me. Affairs are devastating to the families involved, of course, but I think people are a bit holier than thou proclaiming 'morality' and disrepute, when in this day and age there are many worse things than total strangers committing adultery. It all feels a bit witchhunty.

Well someone had to go, you absolutely cannot have the head of HR shagging the CEO.

On top of that, the ‘international laughing stock’ bit wouldn’t have helped, tho I suspect his payout will have been higher in exchange for going quietly.

Had it only come out privately I imagine she’d have been the one to go so I’m fine with it. The world needs a laugh now and then and attention will move on

I assume the woman hasn't resigned, odd that! She didn't look unhappy with his attentions.

Nailed it

as for her, she is head of hr so her job involves making sure staff uphold the company’s values. It is curious that he had had much more negative attention than her. Not sure what the situation is with her right now.

Not sure about that - many companies have policies re staff members in a relationship, non compliance with a policy can lead to disciplinary proceedings at the very least.

I’m guessing one of them will do Strictly or I’m a Celebrity next.

It's actually sort of nice that it isn't the same outcome as the 99.9% of the time this happens (man retains position, more junior woman forced out). I mean, she'll be forced out too, just quieter and slower, and probably pay more of a price long term. But at least for once the male head was on the chopping block too. Couldn't have happened to a nicer arsehole.

The Internet hasn't destroyed anyone's life though - they did. Fuck around and find out, just on a huge scale.

Or the Traitors US version.

Yes this, they are best to just slink away also people at work knew so they put people in an awkward position.

This! And those policies are usually driven by.... The Chief People Officer or equivalent.

And when you are in those positions of management you need to lead by example, particularly I'd imagine, in public events.

They should be focused on their work roles in the company, they are all in positions of trust.

Yup! Satisfying really

It isn't holier than thou.

This is a billion dollar company. They are two of the most important people in the company responsible for its performance.

An affair wouldn't be the only thing that the mortality clause could kick in over but this is a big one.

They have worked n corporate environments for years. They knew the risks. They took it anyway that, shows they lack the ability to make good decisions with have poor impulse control.

The company was and is open to absolute carnage now in terms of litigation from decisions they made in their tenure.

I'd imagine he's not the best CEO they've ever had or think they can get, and so have decided that the potential reputational damage of being headed by a man who is seen as untrustworthy and a bit of a laughing stock isn't outweighed by his mediocre ability. If he'd been highly valued he'd still be in post and the women, wife and OW, would have been the scapegoats.

Same. My ex was was exec level and had an affair with a more junior woman ten years his junior. He had been doing it all on company money during work trips abroad and expensed dinners etc so that I wouldn't see the paper trail. When I found out he didn't apologise, all he cared about was that I didn't tell anyone he worked with. I didn't, but it turned out that she didn't know he was still married. A month later she left the company and he was quietly moved onto a one year contract which wasn't renewed.

Fwiw he's now using this as a reason to pay me less child maintenance, because apparently he has no job security. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Yes but the morality clauses cover all of what has been raised here...

A CEO with power having an affairs with a direct report, when did the affairs start - pre or post hiring? Pre - that bring the hiring process under fire, the you have the basis they have brought the company name into disrepute - shares impacted blah blah

And that not even mentioning the devastation of the families.

@CEOhno

Have you ever worked in corporate?

It’s not “proclaiming morality and disrepute”.

It’s called ethics. Professionalism.

You keep saying “there are worse people
out there”. It’s not a race to the bottom.

Both of them were paid a lot of money in their roles. Do you think the other staff beneath them and the shareholders and the regulators can just ignore this?

What about investors?

Your view point is very narrow. No one cares who shags who but anyone can see that CEO and Head of HR having an affair cannot run from the company’s perspective.

Same thing happened at BP when a CEO resigned a couple years ago due to his internal relationships & not being straight with the board. This one just happened to be outed at a Coldplay concert & got all the publicity.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66790609.amp

I agree. Are they shit heads? Probably. Do they deserve to lose careers? No. This is how people kill themselves.