A female former IOOF employee has accused deputy CIO and head of equities Stanley Yeo of repeated sexual harassment, including on her wedding day. The woman also alleges she was sexually discriminated against by her direct boss Osvaldo Acosta, and that the conduct of both men left her humiliated and distressed.
“IOOF takes these matters very seriously. IOOF is committed to providing a safe and secure environment that embraces diversity. Once the complaint was raised, which was after the complainant’s departure, IOOF immediately commenced its formal grievance handling processes,” a spokesperson for IOOF told ifa sister brand InvestorDaily.
“IOOF is confident that it has acted appropriately at all times and continues to support the legal process. IOOF will defend the action. As the matter is now before the courts, we will be making no further comment.”
The unnamed woman also alleges that she was passed up for promotion and later unfairly dismissed as a result of the harassment, and is seeking damages for loss of opportunity and future income.
The Australian financial services have been rocked by a number of high-profile sexual harassment claims in recent years. AMP Australia chief executive Alex Wade exited the business following rumours that he had sexually harassed a junior female colleague, while AMP Capital high-flyer Boe Pahari was demoted from the role of CEO following a barrage of media coverage of his harassment of Julia Szlakowski.
AMP was raked across the coals in response to the stories, with multiple parliamentary committees demanding answers from CEO Francesco De Ferrari as to how a culture of sexual harassment could be allowed to fester at the wealth giant. The allegations have also resulted in a string of executive departures.
I don’t know anything about IOOF and how it operates. I have no knowledge of these guys.
But it really concerns me how these men have been publically named and shamed, and considered guilty by everyone without any facts and the court case is yet to start.
So these men are publically vilified, but the woman complainant remains nameless.
When the court case is completed, if they are guilty, then they should be dealt with appropriately, but they and their families should be given respect until the case is proven.
This tells me lots about the reporting by IFA also!
IOOF’s bullying is significantly a much bigger issue than their sexual harassment problem. Apparently they can fix their culture with words …. but no action as normal.
“Head of Equities” is hardly a high ranking executive in the context of the size of IOOF.
IOOF and AMP seem to be on very similar trajectories. Coincidence?
I hope women have the confidence and support to report the behaviour of middle aged privellleged men at every industry and dealer group conference.