Stephen Bird, the chief executive of Abrdn, had just touched down in the UK from a business trip to Japan when allegations surfaced about his management style. Several anonymous current and former staffers said that he presided over a dysfunctional environment and that senior leaders are afraid of him.
“I’ve been running businesses of this size — and larger — for 25 years and never had any complaints,” Bird told Financial News in an interview from his City office.