The Confederation of British Industry on Tuesday said it sacked director-general Tony Danker, saying his conduct "fell short of that expected" of his position.
The CBI said it had taken the decision following an independent investigation into complaints of workplace misconduct against its boss. Danker took the job in November 2020 but stood down in March 2023 after allegations about his conduct appeared in The Guardian - Matthew Fell was appointed as director-general on an interim basis. In April, the newspaper also made wider claims about sexual misconduct by senior CBI employees.
"The board wishes to make clear he is not the subject of any of the more recent allegations in The Guardian but has determined that his own conduct fell short of that expected of the director-general," it said.
Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI's former chief economist, will rejoin the organisation as its new director-general, it added.
Danker wrote on Twitter this morning: "I recognise the intense publicity the CBI has suffered following the revelations of awful events that occurred before my time in office. I was appalled to learn about them for the first time last week. I was nevertheless shocked to learn this morning that I had been dismissed from the CBI, instead of being invited to put my position forward as was originally confirmed.
"Many of the allegations against me have been distorted, but I recognise that I unintentionally made a number of colleagues feel uncomfortable and I am truly sorry about that. I want to wish my former CBI colleagues every success."
The CBI represents 140 UK trade associations and nearly 200,000 businesses, lobbying and advising government. Former CBI director-generals include Sir Digby Jones, former FSA chairman Adair Turner, former RBS chairman Howard Davies and FTSE 100 non-executive director Dame Carolyn Fairbairn.
Its annual conferences and dinners are the staple of the political calendar - the UK chancellor usually gives the keynote speech - but all public events have been cancelled while the CBI investigates the claims.