Barclays CEO Jes Staley takes prankster’s bait
Staley, who is warding off criticism for trying to ferret out a whistle-blower, responded to e-mails from an impostor pretending to be chairperson John McFarlane
London — Jes Staley, the Barclays Plc CEO warding off criticism for attempting to ferret out the identity of a whistle-blower, responded to e-mails from an impostor pretending to be chairperson John McFarlane, the Financial Times reported on its Alphaville blog. The sender, who used the john.mcfarlane.barclays@gmail address, criticised a Barclays shareholder who had sought to oust Staley at the London-based lender’s AGM on Wednesday. The CEO, who was re-elected to the board, responded with praise for McFarlane, citing his "grit" and comparing his "fearlessness" on the guitar to that of Eric Clapton. Staley, the bank’s CEO since McFarlane hired him in late 2015, has faced calls to resign since the lender publicly reprimanded him in April for persisting with his pursuit of a whistle-blower after being told it was inappropriate. On Wednesday, the chairperson compared the incident to a driver running a red light, saying it wasn’t a firing offence and that Staley has "learnt his lesson"....
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