AMP CEO Francesco De Ferrari issues warning in all-staff email after Alex Wade exit controversy

AMP CEO Francesco De Ferrari has warned staff the company takes complaints seriously, days after the controversial exit of Alex Wade.

AMP CEO Francesco De Ferrari. Picture: Britta Campion

AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari has sent an internal memorandum to staff at the under-fire wealth group, reminding employees the company takes complaints seriously.

The brief memo was distributed on Monday to AMP’s more than 5,000 staff. It didn’t address the reasons for the sudden departure last week of senior executive Alex Wade, but said AMP did take staff complaints seriously.

The memo comes amid increasing concerns about AMP’s culture, and after The Australian revealed the departure of Mr Wade was linked to inappropriate conduct and lewd photos.

AMP’s head of Australia Alex Wade parted ways with the group last week.

An AMP spokesman declined to comment on the contents of the memo on Monday.

Mr Wade was head of AMP‘s Australia division and joined the embattled company in January last year as head of its wealth division, before his role was expanded.

The allegations of the photos sent by Mr Wade are understood to have been the final straw and last week triggered the end of his tenure as a senior executive at AMP. They added to other claims relating to Mr Wade’s conduct and performance that had already been raised with the board.

On Friday, a spokesman for Mr Wade said on his behalf: “I arrived at my decision to resign from AMP in the interests of all parties.

“My focus now is on a period of personal reflection and the relationships that are most important to me.”

AMP’s culture has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in recent months. The promotion of Boe Pahari to lead the AMP Capital division sparked controversy, given he had been financially penalised over a harassment incident several years earlier.

Mr De Ferrari will front investors and analysts on Thursday when he delivers AMP‘s half-year earnings results. The group has flagged that it expects underlying profit of between $140m and $150m for the six months to June 30, a drop of more than half from $309m profit at the same time last year.