The former chief financial officer of Royal Bank of Canada is suing the bank for $36 million, alleging she suffered “public humiliation” after being fired over an undisclosed personal relationship with a colleague, which she denies.
Nadine Ahn, 52, filed a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, claiming she was humiliated and suffered “palpable damage to her reputation.”
On April 5, RBC fired Ahn after the bank said she had violated its code of conduct by being involved in an “undisclosed close personal relationship with another employee.”
Ahn’s lawsuit explains how the bank’s CEO, Dave McKay, had sent her a text message on the evening of April 4, asking her to attend a meeting the next day.
However, According to Bloomberg, Her court filing says that when she showed up, McKay was not present, and she was met by an attorney who asked her several questions about a co-worker, Ken Mason, who worked in the bank’s corporate treasury group.
Former RBC chief financial officer Nadine Ahn has filed a lawsuit against the Canadian bank for wrongful dismissal and “public humiliation” after she was fired over an affair with a colleague that she denies having.
RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) sign in Toronto’s financial district Toronto, Ontario
The RBC investigator accused Ahn of giving Mason preferential treatment and insinuated they were having an affair, according to her statement, which Ahn says is “patently false.”
MailOnline has contacted RBC for comment.
In a statement released in April, RBC said it had been “informed of the allegations involving Ms. Ahn and immediately launched an internal investigation and engaged outside legal counsel to investigate.” It added that the alleged relationship had led to “preferential treatment toward the employee, including promotions and compensation increases.”
Mason, who was also fired, also filed a lawsuit against RBC, seeking more than C$20 million in compensation and damages. In his statement, he claims the bank “ambushed” him with a “discriminatory and inappropriate/unreasonable employment investigation meeting” that was “unfair, biased and procedurally flawed.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mason was the bank’s head of capital and term finance.
Ahn’s filing said she had been friends with Mason since 2013. She also argued that RBC’s code of conduct did not require her to disclose a friendship with a co-worker and said that, in any event, “her friendship with Mr. Mason was not concealed from RBC in any way.”
Katherine Gibson (pictured) took over as RBC’s interim CFO following Ahn’s departure.
Ahn, who is in her 50s, began her 12-year tenure at RBC as a senior manager, before being promoted to managing director, then vice president and senior vice president, according to her LinkedIn.
Canada’s largest bank paid Ahn about $3 million in fiscal year 2023, a figure that represented a 25 percent pay increase from the previous year.
At the time of her appointment in 2021 to her former role, Ahn was the only female CFO at any of Canada’s Big Six banks.
According to her Facebook, she is married.
Following Ahn’s departure, the bank has named Katherine Gibson as interim chief financial officer while it begins a search for a replacement.
Gibson has worked at RBC for two decades and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Controller, a role that included overseeing the board’s reporting process and managing the bank’s accounting policy and financial management systems.
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