One of McKinsey & Co's most prominent partners, Sydney-based Chris Bradley, has resigned from his board role at Opportunity International Australia. The charity announced the decision in a post on its website on Thursday evening, stating: "Chris Bradley has offered to resign from the Board of Opportunity International Australia, and we have accepted his resignation." The organisation thanked Bradley for his work over more than 25 years supporting its mission of empowering women and their families to lift themselves out of poverty.
Bradley's resignation from the charity board comes days after McKinsey removed him from his position at the McKinsey Global Institute, the firm's high-profile business and economic research unit. The decision followed an internal conduct review triggered by Bradley's LinkedIn exchange last month with an author of a new book discussing the "glass cliff" for women. The comments were deleted and McKinsey previously distanced itself from the remarks.
"Following our conduct review process, we have removed the partner from his leadership roles, including at the McKinsey Global Institute. His public comments fell well short of the standards we expect at our firm," McKinsey spokesman Taylor Burns said. Bradley also served as a leader on some internal committees, Burns added.
Bradley remains a senior partner at McKinsey and a board member of the Sydney-based conservative think tank, The Centre for Independent Studies.
The term "glass cliff" was coined by academics to describe the phenomenon where female leaders are more likely to be offered CEO positions at struggling companies.