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The Confederation of Business Industry (CBI), Britain’s biggest business lobby, is facing an existential crisis after sexual misconduct allegations against senior figures led to the firing of the director general. He has acknowledged that he made colleagues uncomfortable but disputed some of the allegations against him as distorted. The CBI has suspended its annual dinner and announced that former CBI Chief Economist Rain Newton-Smith will replace Tony Danker as the director general, with a root-and-branch review of the organisation’s culture, governance and processes, and the appointment of a chief people officer. The allegations reflect an outdated workplace culture that has been slow to evolve. The CBI’s influence has been in decline, and its campaigning against Brexit irritated the ruling Conservative Party, losing it support.
