Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) chief executive officer Richard Morin on Tuesday resigned from his post, according to a notification shared on the PSX website.
According to a private media outlet, an emergency meeting of the PSX Board of Directors (BoD) was held today during which Morin submitted his resignation. It was approved by the board.
Morin had reportedly developed differences with the board, as the BOD had written a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan regarding the CEO, alleging that while he was the CEO in Pakistan, he was running a company abroad.
During a meeting of the BoD on May 20, Morin had given a hearing on the show-cause notice served to him for alleged breach of employment contract by simultaneously operating his own wealth management company while being employed by the PSX.
Archer Wealth Management, a Montreal-based firm that identifies itself as ‘independent financial advisers’ had Morin as the CEO of the company and chairman of its board.
Responding to the PSX Board, Morin maintained that there was no wrongdoing and he had declared his interest in Archer Wealth Management at the time of taking up his position at the PSX.
It is pertinent to mention that Morin joined the PSX as the first-ever non-Pakistani chief executive officer of the market in January 2018 during PML-N’s tenure.
Morin earned Bachelors in Economics in 1982 from University of Montreal and Masters in Business Administration in 1988 from McGill University. He also passed “Canadian Securities Course” in 1984 and “Partners, Directors and Officers Examination” in 2000 from Canadian Securities Institute. Recently, he has also passed “Chief Compliance Officer Examination”.
People who were involved in the due diligence for selecting Richard Morin as the MD of PSX are equally responsible for this rather embarrassing incident and must not be left off the hook!