The fallout continues for Mark Wiseman following his dismissal from BlackRock in December.
Wiseman, formerly a senior managing director at BlackRock, has resigned from the board of FCLTGlobal, a non-profit group that promotes long-term decision-making in business and investing. Wiseman helped found the long-termism advocate in 2013, while he was serving as president and chief executive of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
“We thank Mark for his leadership in the founding of FCLTGlobal, and we are grateful for his support of the organization,” group CEO Sarah Keohane Williamson said in a statement.
According to the announcement by FCLTGlobal on Thursday, Wiseman has resigned as chair of the board as of December 31, “concurrent with his resignation from BlackRock.”
Wiseman was dismissed from his role as global head of active equities and chair of BlackRock’s alternatives business in early December after failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a colleague, according to internal memos sent by Wiseman and BlackRock executives Larry Fink and Rob Kapito. Wiseman is married to Marcia Moffat, head of BlackRock’s Canada business.
“I am leaving BlackRock because in recent months I engaged in a consensual relationship with one of our colleagues without reporting it as required by BlackRock’s Relationships at Work Policy,” Wiseman wrote in a December email to BlackRock colleagues. “I regret my mistake and I accept responsibility for my actions.”
[II Deep Dive: BlackRock Fires Mark Wiseman for Failing to Disclose Romantic Relationship With Colleague]
Wiseman was the second senior executive to leave BlackRock last year “because of their personal conduct,” according to the memo from Kapito and Fink. A person familiar with the situation told II that the other employee was Jeff Smith, the firm’s former global head of human resources. In the memo, Kapito and Fink — a strategic advisor to FCLTGlobal — described the two departures as “deeply disappointing.”
“This is not who BlackRock is,” they wrote. “This is not our culture.”
In addition to Wiseman’s resignation, FCLTGlobal announced three additions to its board of directors, including Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, Future Fund chief David Neal, and Hillhouse Capital Group founder Lei Zhang.
“We look forward to welcoming our new board members and are eager for them to get involved in shaping the future of FCLTGlobal,” Williamson said. “With established track records in long-term leadership, we’re confident they can help guide our organization in the years ahead.”
The non-profit also appointed two new strategic advisors: attorney Martin Lipton and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, founder and chief executive of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism.
