Not long after Francesco De Ferrari was hired by David Murray as AMP's "last decent chance" following its battering during the Hayne royal commission, the former Credit Suisse banker dragged employees from the company's Circular Quay headquarters on Sydney Harbour to an auditorium across the road at the Opera House for a pep talk.

Coming to the top job in December 2018, De Ferrari realised employees needed a bit of encouragement. They'd suffered not just the abrupt departure of chairman Catherine Brenner and chief executive Craig Meller over a fees-for-no-service scandal, amid accusations the company lied to the corporate regulator, but also the damage to the company's reputation and share price, and a conga line of executive and board departures.