Intimate texts exchanged between a ousted Royal Bank of Canada boss and her junior colleague have emerged amid the latest round of legal wrangling over their secret office relationship.
Canada’s largest lender fired its chief financial officer Nadine Ahn in April after uncovering an alleged decade-long affair with her subordinate Ken Mason, who reportedly received promotions and raises as a result of the connection.
Ahn, 53, retaliated with a $50 million wrongful termination lawsuit earlier this month, but the bank responded Friday with a countersuit seeking $4.5 million in “excessive compensation” paid to Mason, 57, for Bloomberg.
The latest lawsuit revealed text messages exchanged between Ahn and Mason, who exchanged romantic poetry and “fantasized about a life together, such as reading together in bed,” according to the bank.
RBC said they also referred to each other using affectionate nicknames: “Prickly Pear” for Ahn and “KD” for Mason, who also filed a $20 million wrongful termination lawsuit and denied any close relationship with Ahn.
Canada’s largest lender fired its chief financial officer Nadine Ahn (pictured) in April over a long-standing secret relationship with her subordinate, Ken Mason, 57, who allegedly received promotions and raises as a result of the connection.
Racy texts exchanged between an ousted Royal Bank of Canada chief and her junior colleague have been revealed amid an explosive lawsuit
The bank says Ahn began an intimate relationship with Mason, an executive in the bank’s corporate treasury group, as early as 2013, which continued until her departure earlier this year.
“Ms. Ahn sent Mr. Mason romantic poetry, expressing that she had fallen in love with him when she first saw him,” according to the lawsuit filed in the Ontario Court of Justice.
‘Ms. Ahn and Mr. Mason continued to see each other regularly outside of the office during this period and hosted a luncheon on August 18, 2017 to celebrate their ‘fourth anniversary.’
The bank also gives examples of “intimate communications” between the couple. “On March 11, 2019, Ms. Ahn texted Mr. Mason to say, ‘I love you.’ Mr. Mason responded 15 seconds later, ‘I love you, too,'” according to the filing.
Ahn was promoted to chief financial officer in 2021 and RBC accuses her of using the position to coordinate promotions and pay raises for Mason, something she allegedly referred to as “Project Ken.”
RBC says her interventions led to him receiving compensation increases equivalent to a 58 percent raise over the two fiscal years following his promotion, and she promoted him to vice president and head of equity and term financing in 2023.
Intimate texts exchanged between a ousted Royal Bank of Canada director and her junior colleague have emerged amid the latest round of legal wrangling over their secret office relationship.
Ahn is also accused of sharing confidential information with her mistress, including a draft of a speech that CEO Dave McKay was to deliver.
The couple also used calendar invitations to host “liquidity meetings,” code for cocktail party plans, according to RBC.
At a “liquidity meeting,” they wrote notes about their drink orders and other topics, including “concert, night out, wine cellar” on a roller coaster at Canoe, an upmarket restaurant in Toronto’s financial district.
Mason covered the coaster with plexiglass and stored it in his office, according to RBC.
The messages came from the bank’s internal messaging systems, which the couple routinely used to communicate along with their personal devices.
RBC said it launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous tip that Ahn and Mason were having an intimate relationship.
Attorneys for Ahn and Mason did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the countersuit.
In his wrongful termination suit, Ahn said the bank’s allegations were “patently false” and that his successes, career and reputation were destroyed in an instant by the bank.
Katherine Gibson has been named interim CFO while the search for a replacement begins
An RBC spokesman said Friday that they were disappointed to learn that the allegations were true.
Ahn was a “highly respected member” of the executive team with fiduciary responsibilities and the bank had “great confidence in his abilities,” the spokesman said.
“Contrary to Ahn and Mason’s claims, the investigation showed that there was an undisclosed close personal relationship and that Ahn abused her authority as CFO to directly benefit Mason,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that all senior executives have a duty to follow its code of conduct.
RBC 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.
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