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LONDON – Bill Michael, chairman of UK accounting giant KPMG, has stepped down after telling staff to stop complaining about the coronavirus pandemic during a virtual meeting earlier this week.
KPMG confirmed on Friday that Michael, who has run the British firm since 2017, had resigned from his role.
Speaking at a virtual town hall on Monday, Michael told staff that after speaking with partners and employees at different levels of the firm, “it almost looks like they’re being made,” referring to his experience of the pandemic. coronavirus.
“Well, you can’t play the role of a victim unless you’re sick and I hope you’re not sick, you’re not sick, and if you’re not, you take control of your life,” he said. “You won’t sit there and chew it on quite frankly,” Michael said.
Michael also described the unconscious bias as “complete shit,” adding that he believed “there was no such thing.”
In a statement released Friday about his departure, Michael said he felt “truly sorry that my words have hurt my colleagues and the impact this week’s events have had on them.”
It was because of this incident that Michael said he now found his position as president “unsustainable” and that he had decided to leave KPMG. He added that he was “extremely proud” of what KPMG staff had achieved, “particularly in these very difficult times”.
Bina Mehta, a member of the senior elected board, has served as acting president, while Mary O’Connor, head of customers and markets, has taken on the day-to-day executive responsibilities of Michael.
In Michael’s biography on the KPMG website, he was said to have “led KPMG’s work related to the financial crisis and advocated the debate on banking culture and standards and the need for changes in the industry.”