BUSINESS Bloomberg Businessweek June 24, 2019
27completely wrong. I like to think today the glass is
definitely half full. It may not be totally full, but half
full compared with half empty.
What is the biggest fear you think gay people feel
about coming out in business?
They feel several things, and I still feel this. One
is, it’s an extra factor that gets in the way of pro-
motion [and] your career development. Secondly,
they still think that attitudes of clients and those
outside major cities are still quite old-fashioned and
they object to gay people. So that would change
the way they deal with their official relationships.
Thirdly, they may not have told their families, so
that’s another factor that gets in the way of being
open about yourself. We’re sitting here in London
talking about this, and there are many gay people
that can be openly gay. New York, San Francisco, Los
Angeles. But if we went north of here to the country-
side, then attitudes might change. If we went north
of New York City, it might change. If we went east of
San Francisco or Los Angeles, things might change.
So we are, to an extent, affected by the metropoli-
tan environment we live in, where there are a lot of
diverse people, and people are much more inclu-
sive. I think attitudes take a long time to change.
Is there a personal anecdote about your coming out
that sticks with you?
When I was outed, I decided that I would resign
from BP, so I resigned, because I felt that I could
neither take the company through what was going
on nor did I feel entirely the board was completely
happy with this. So I resigned, and I decided to
leave BP through the front door. They said, “Are
you sure you don’t want to go to the back door?” I
said, “No, no I’ll go through the front door. I always
come through the front door.”
The reception?
I’ve never seen press like that. The whole of St.
James’s Square [was full]. And then I got into a car
and went to my apartment followed by paparazzi
on motorbikes. As I got into my apartment, people
were on ladders and on the trees trying to take pho-
tographs. So I had to shut the blinds. For three days
I was under siege. And actually after three days,
as they say‚ there was huge coverage around the
world. But the English expression is, “yesterday’s
news is today’s fish-and-chips wrapper,” and I was
then [that] fish-and-chip wrapper on Day4. So I
decided to go out. I went out shopping along King’s
Road and what happened was an eye-opener for
someone who thought they were going to lose all
their respect and their friends. People started stop-
ping me and saying things like, “We’re right behind
you” and “We support you.” I was quite emotional,
and I couldn’t handle it, so I had to go back to the
apartment again. Then what really sorted it out, I
had a deluge of supportive mail, and I realized then
that life had changed and that people look at you
as who you are, not who you think you should be.
And it changed everything.
Have you taken on the role of mentoring or bravely
confronting someone about their hidden sexuality in
the way you wanted someone to do for you?
Yes, it hasn’t always worked. But I’ve helped
people through, just to remind them that it’s not as
if it’s an existential threat—it’s the reverse. But peo-
ple do think that. What you build in your head after
many years is a very complex picture of what you
think people will do to you if things change. And it’s
not surprising. It’s just that some secrets are more
difficult to keep than others. Some are more dam-
aging to keep. In some ways, would I like to have
been outed the way I was? No. But thank goodness I
was. Thank goodness I was because I can’t imagine
what it would be like to have perpetuated that lie.
—Interview by Kelly GilblomSueBaines,director
of U.K. debit card
optimization, Barclays
[Having] a diverse
and inclusive firm’s a
great way of retaining
colleagues. I’m loyal
as a consequence of
opportunities I’ve had
and the support
I’ve had as a visible and
senior out lesbian.
Dax Dasilva, CEO,
Lightspeed
In tech ... we really have
the opportunity to bring
diversity as a strength.
We must create seats
at the table for diverse
viewpoints, knowing
that difference is a
teacher. Solutions for
the future come out
of diverse perspectives.Sander van ’t
Noordende, group chief
executive, Accenture
The young professional
who is out is also a role
model, so being visible
matters, because that
shows the way for
others. Be out and be
natural about it, because
ultimately people will
figure it out, and it’s OK.Kim Culmone, senior
vice president, Mattel
The higher you go
up, the less diverse
the space becomes.
I feel an enormous
responsibility to take
that empathy I got
from growing up
different from the
majority ... [to sound]
the voice of the
perhaps marginalized.ChristopherBailey,
ex-CEO, Burberry Group
Fashion can be a very
accepting industry. As
I get older, I realize how
fortunate I was. There’s
been so much progress,
but I can’t imagine how
much harder it still can
be in some industries
that aren’t in city centers.
It can take a tremendous
amount of inner strength.Inga Beale, ex-CEO,
Lloyd’s of London
For advice, I would
say, be yourself; bring
your whole self to
work. Please don’t go
back into the closet—
because you will be the
one who fundamentally
suffers for it. And
if you’re out at work,
you and your business
will benefit.“I wish I had
a role model
that could
have come to
me and said,
‘John, I think
we all know
you’re gay’ ”