Shortly after Jeremy Newmark arrived at the Jewish Leadership Council in early 2006, it adopted a new executive structure. It was, he explained, one “which blends openness, accountability and best practice in corporate governance with a flexibility to operate in the modern world”.
Whatever else might be said of the JLC’s handling of his departure, “openness” is not a word that comes to mind.
Many will accept the trustees’ reasoning that they acted out of compassion, dealing discreetly with a delicate situation while enabling a chief executive with health problems to go without injury to his reputation.
What they have not revealed is whether they simply put down any lapses in financial management down to ill-health or if they felt his conduct ought to preclude him from taking on certain roles in the future.
