Case Studies

Annie Norman: Turning Adversity into Strength

Introduction
Annie Norman was a nurse at NHS Highland when she raised concerns about understaffing and patient care in November 2010. Following this, her line manager expressed "no confidence in her practice," which led to Annie being re-deployed across different positions. Despite a formal investigation finding no evidence of bullying, the manager left after 12 months. After mediation failed, Annie was off sick and was re-deployed nine times over 6.5 years. With the support of her family, friends, and a nursing union representative, Annie eventually secured a permanent position in 2018. In 2021, she received compensation reflecting the severe harm caused to her health during this period.

The Disclosure

Annie’s story began when she called the ward where she worked to raise concerns about patient safety and welfare. Initially, this seemed like a routine action, but it soon escalated. Despite her best efforts, no one took action to resolve her concerns, and no apology was given by the perpetrator. This led to emotional exhaustion and a serious breakdown in mental health. From 2010 to 2016, Annie was re-deployed across various positions, suffering from increasing anxiety and stress. Annie’s dedication to the truth and her belief that she had done nothing wrong kept her determined. She felt NHS Highland was acting incorrectly, which fueled her perseverance throughout the process. Despite the institutional failures, she fought tirelessly, seeking legal advice and medical support to cope with the emotional toll.

The New Role

After years of re-deployment and legal battles, Annie was permanently re-deployed in 2018 to a position in the Infection Prevention and Control Nurse’s team at NHS Highland. This new role provided her with the stability and professional support she had desperately needed. In 2021, after receiving compensation for the mental health damage caused by the years of mistreatment, Annie began using her story to help others. She now advocates for whistleblowers, sharing her experience and offering guidance on how to navigate similar challenges.

Factors That Helped
Networking
Throughout her journey, Annie leveraged her personal and professional networks. Additionally, Annie connected with other whistleblowers through the “Patients First” campaign, which provided invaluable emotional and practical support. This network also taught her how to effectively raise her concerns with her Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP), a move that proved instrumental in achieving closure for her case.

New Culture
When Annie found a new role in 2018, the workplace culture was vastly different. The compassionate and supportive managers she found in her new team gave her the opportunity to heal professionally and emotionally. While the details of her past as a whistleblower did not come up in her interviews, when her new colleagues learned of her history, they expressed admiration for her perseverance. Annie’s experience highlights how a healthy, supportive work culture can make a significant difference in a whistleblower’s journey.

The Ability to Move
Annie’s ability to move between roles within NHS Highland played a key role in her eventual success. While the process of redeployment was exhausting, it allowed her to escape a toxic environment and find a healthier work setting. Her ability to adapt and persevere, supported by her union, eventually led to a permanent role in 2018 that allowed her to recover and rebuild her career.

Summary: Annie Today
Annie’s journey as a whistleblower spans more than a decade of challenges, legal battles, and personal growth. Despite the setbacks, Annie has emerged stronger, with compassionate support from her family, colleagues, and community. She is now an advocate for other whistleblowers, speaking at workshops and events about how to raise concerns safely and how to deal with the personal and professional repercussions of blowing the whistle.

Annie’s determination, resilience, and the support networks she built have been key factors in her success. Her story serves as a reminder that, although the journey is long and difficult, justice and healing are possible.

Further Reading

To learn more about Annie’s story and her contributions to the Patients First campaign, visit:

▶️ Video | Annie Norman: Speak Up Week 2024 (Part 1)

📰 News | Former whistleblower shares her story — INWO (SPSO)

▶️ Video | Annie Norman: Speak Up Week 2024 (Part 2)

📰 Article | Scotland nurse recounts traumatic whistleblowing experience — Nursing Times

Contact Annie through her email: annie.norman12@gmail.com

Richard Bowen: A Career Escape Route

Introduction

Currently a professor of accounting in the University of Texas at Dallas with a strong sense of mission, Richard blew the whistle on two separate occasions within the finance sector after witnessing fraud. Keeping his options open, he began teaching a night class during the second disclosure process. He now teaches students that it is ok to question things and raise concerns in their workplace, while simultaneously watching out for danger and protecting themselves. He believes strongly in public education about fraud, is politically active, and campaigns for an organisational culture shift to foster healthier, ethically compliant companies, reducing the need for whistleblowing.

The disclosures In the 1980s, Richard was the executive vice president and chief financial officer of First National Bank and Trust Company of Oklahoma City. FNB/OKC was the largest publicly traded bank in Oklahoma and was considered the premier energy lender. Alarmed at the energy bubble crisis, when oil and gas prices expanded rapidly and then burst, Richard observed poor lending practices at his and other banks. He tried to alert his colleagues to the increasing risks associated with energy lending and noted the failure of other banks related to this. He shared his concerns with the bank’s directors and with the National Bank Examiners. The ensuing national bank examination report severely criticized bank executive management but praised Richard. FNB/OKC management immediately terminated Richard, and the bank was closed by the regulators two years later.

Rather than regret his disclosure, Richard felt he should have fought harder. His second incident was different. In 2006, Richard was promoted to a position of significant responsibility. As a Business Chief Underwriter for the Consumer Lending Group of Citigroup, he oversaw the examination of $90 billion of mortgages purchased from over 1600 banks and mortgage companies each year. Finding his bank was frequently overlooking policy breaches in 80% of the mortgages and yet the mortgages were sold with the bank guaranteeing to the purchasers that the mortgages did not have policy breaches, Richard repeatedly raised the alarm in 2006 and 2007 to a number of senior executives, including the chairman of the board of directors. “Silly me, I thought I was doing my job… I didn't think I was being a whistleblower... Obviously, I was being ignored. I had the gnawing feeling that this might not end well.” His organisation turned against him and he lost his job in early 2008. But Richard still didn’t give up trying to get the unsafe business practices corrected.

He then testified for two days before the Securities and Exchange Commission and gave them over 1,000 pages of documents evidencing the fraud he had witnessed. Although he was initially told the investigators would pursue the case, he describes how he was not contacted again and Citigroup was bailed out three months later by the U.S. government with the infusion of $350 billion in new capital and toxic asset guarantees. The government ultimately took ownership of 36% of the common stock of Citigroup, then the world’s largest bank. Richard then gave nationally-televised testimony at the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission public hearings in 2010 and provided 28 pages of sworn written testimony containing specific instances of wrongdoing requested by the FCIC staff. He reports that he was then forced to edit out much of the requested testimony, with the edited 20 page testimony then reflected as his official FCIC sworn testimony.

The new academic role Richard always enjoyed teaching others, and had harboured a dream of working in a university. In 2008, before he was fired, Richard began teaching an accountancy night class at the University of Texas at Dallas on the side, intending to continue in his day job. “I attribute the university to the reason I have what little sanity [remains]. They gave me a base… while I was going through the remaining travails.” In between losing his finance job and becoming a full-time professor two years later, Richard accepted a FDIC regulator contract, managing a team to close down another bank. He also began doing advocacy work during this time. The Career Transition: Factors that helped Good Counsel Richard urges students and would-be whistleblowers to seek advice early and from different sources. He recommends caution in the use of in-house ‘whistleblower’ or ‘ethics’ hotlines, as sometimes they are traps. Following poor advice from his own first lawyer, Richard signed a separation agreement from his employer framed in legalese that was incomprehensible to him and contained many onerous provisions.

Richard then possibly violated the agreement, speaking on television news to an audience of 12 million people about the fraud he had witnessed. An experienced whistleblower put Richard in contact with an organisation who would eventually legally represent him. It was a relief to him, “... just to have confidence in your attorneys and having someone that is there with you and can give you advice.” Moreover, they didn’t charge him. While Richard continues to stay true to himself, they respect his autonomy. “They have cautioned me a number of times not to do something and I've told them that my conscience tells me I have to... they still backed me but they wanted me to be aware of the possible ramifications.” Faith Whistleblowing in a hostile environment took its toll on Richard and his family. “I have distinct memories… of going to meetings, presenting my findings and arguing what was going on. I remember my stomach tying in knots, I was getting so uptight.” His health insurance remained in place for some time after the separation was signed, so his surgeries for a near-fatal ruptured colon were covered.

His son, however, needed brain surgery some time later, and the insurance had run out. This represented a significant drain on the family finances. Along with a supportive, steadfast marriage, Richard credits his faith as the source of strength throughout all this adversity. “I have a very, very strong faith. I was led all the way through this... faith definitely maintained me.” Moving On Networks During the 1980s, Richard kept his disclosure quiet and drew upon his strong contacts. His excellent reputation ensured other banks would hire him after he lost his job. In 2008 however, he didn’t want to keep the story under wraps, as it would have blocked public and media support that was needed to prevail in his struggle against the organization. Crucially, Richard had something else to fall back on, from a career perspective. He warns people, “Whenever you whistleblow… make sure it's a very deliberate decision. Recognise that you are probably blowing up your career in [your] industry.” He networked outside his sector and he found teaching work. His contacts proved useful in other ways.

After having left the bank he tracked down another whistleblower and they spent hours in conversation. It was she who put him in touch with the specialist organisation that would not only become his legal representatives but would offer him his first public speaking opportunity. This was the beginning of his advocacy work trying to make the public aware of the wrongdoings which had contributed to the financial crisis.

Summary

Richard today Reflecting on his case, Richard retains a sense of unfinished business and frustration with the coverups occurring both at the corporate as well as the regulatory levels. Multiple criminal referrals against his former organization by the FCIC have gone ignored by the US Department of Justice. Weighing up the resulting feeling of emptiness and all the adversity he faced, Richard does not condemn anyone who chooses not to speak up if they witness wrongdoing. But he warns them: "If you don't pursue that further, which is fine, get the hell out of there… There's a number of stories of people that did not leave and they wound up, unfortunately, being complicit... And many of them were thrown under the bus.” Richard plans to teach for another three years before retiring but will continue speaking out. “I truly believe that the only real protection we have against a lot of the massive fraud going on is whistleblowers... It's the employees that know what's going on. My mission is to eliminate the need for whistleblowers… if management truly are administering an ethical culture, they will respect and encourage their employees to give them feedback and they will act on that feedback.“

References:

http://www.richardmbowen.com/ https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/was-this-whistle-blower-muzzled.html http://fullmeasure.news/news/politics/bankers-gone-bad

Cathy Scharf: Quiet Exit

Introduction

Cathy Scharf was in banking for over 25 years before she blew the whistle. When the institution she was working for went into receivership in 2009, she moved to a small American bank, SunFirst, in Utah. She quickly became aware of illegal account activity and went on to discover that the bank was laundering money for online gambling sites. Sunfirst’s president denied her requests to report suspicious activity. Her disclosure, aided by the FBI and a private lawyer, mobilised a regulator to intervene. Between them, they revealed over $200 million in laundered funds. During her disclosure process, Cathy moved from Sunfirst to a contract position at Western Union in Colorado without having been identified as a whistleblower by either employer. When subsequent bosses in other workplaces found out about her disclosure history, it was acknowledged but not perceived as problematic in any way. Following her work at Western Union, she found a job at Bank of George in Las Vegas.

Later, she switched to NBH Bank in Colorado where she has been a valued senior employee since 2014. The disclosure From the outset, Cathy felt out of place at SunFirst. The main religion was Mormonism. She reflected that one man who invested heavily in the bank was idolised, while women were told what to do and what to wear. A week in, Cathy noticed suspicious activity with a large third party payment processor (TPPP). A TPPP is an entity that helps receive payments online. The TPPP processes the transaction through their account and gives the merchant the funds. There is a a risk of fraud with TPPPs and they received a lot of charge backs, that is, returned checks against the TPPP’s account. At SunFirst, the poker funds did not appear to be fraudulent but this was not the case with other merchants within the TPPP. Suspicious, Cathy asked to see how account chargebacks were made.

She discovered more third party processors nestled within the first one, indicating a complex system of fraud. The high volume of transactions was connected with online gambling sites. Sunfirst had been on the brink of collapse and in an illicit effort to keep it afloat, executives were accepting cash injections from illegally trading companies in exchange for money laundering services. These ‘services’ included purchasing large amounts of gold. Between the close of 2010 and autumn of 2011, the bank made nearly $250 million from poker alone. When Cathy urged her boss to file suspicious activity reports, he only said, “No.” Cathy was emboldened at a workshop for preventing internet gambling to reach out to the FBI. They instructed her to keep a journal and hire her own lawyer.

She had to proceed cautiously: going through normal law enforcement would have engaged the bank’s criminal lawyers, who were sponsored by the bank’s illegal gambling clients. Her evidence prompted a regulator to set up an office within the bank itself, freezing the fraudulent accounts pending investigation. Under cover, Cathy continued to pass on more information to the regulator from both her own probing and from 2 other female staff who had become allies in her secret work. Twelve men were indicted for alleged conspiracy involvement and, in 2012, the chairperson of SunFirst was imprisoned. The new role Cathy now works for NBH Bank in Colorado, where she has been since 2014. Her new role is Senior Vice President and Bank Secrecy Act Officer. The position encompasses risk assessment, policy, strategy, management of audits and sitting on the fraud committee. She enjoys her work and is paid well. Her past as a whistleblower does not negatively affect her job or her work relationships. Indeed, her employers are fascinated and they commend her for it. For example she recalls, “I was at a board of directors’ dinner this summer and I was telling my whistleblower story to them. They were shocked and couldn’t believe my story. They were hanging on every suspenseful word… about the whole adventure.”

Factors that helped

Networking When she was leaving SunFirst, Cathy leveraged her social connections as well as online platforms to find alternative leads for work. She used LinkedIn to secure a contract with another financial organisation through a recruitment company.

Her active approach, drawing on social networks, provided her with information on opportunities she may have missed otherwise.

New Culture Cathy’s disclosure had been so well-concealed that prospective employers had no idea that she had been a whistleblower. The topic did not come up in interviews. All the same, when her subsequent employers did become aware of her story, they openly praised her for it. “They are actually proud of me… The new CFO saw online her award from ACAMS. He sent it to the whole bank and… said, ‘Cathy is a hero,’ or… ‘a star.’ It was really nice.” Fortunately for Cathy, her new workplace takes a positive stance on her history. They have not been hostile nor have they overlooked her for promotion because of it, as could be the case in some companies.

The Ability to Move When she was finishing up the Western Union contract she took when leaving SunFirst, Cathy was asked by Western Union to stay on for the long term as an analyst in their global monitoring department. “They would have hired me but at that time I still lived in Las Vegas.” At a later point, she was in a position where moving state from Nevada was feasible and so she accepted a job in Colorado where she has stayed since. Flexibility around work location, Cathy says, was one of the key factors in her successful career progression since her disclosure.

Summary:

Cathy today A convoluted system of internet gambling-based financial corruption pervaded the small bank Cathy Scharf began working for in 2010. Through curiosity and following good advice, she managed to safely unearth the fraudulent banking processes, alerting the authorities and helping to bring the perpetrators to justice. 3 Cathy quietly collected evidence and secured a new job before leaving the bank. Since then, she has enjoyed a fruitful career in senior positions. Her networking, willingness and ability to travel have supported her along the way. She now has a position that pays well, draws on her skill set and expertise, and allows her to work with colleagues who value her contribution to the industry.

Further reading

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2858441

James Shelton: Back to Government

Introduction

A company owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia hired James Shelton in 2007 to direct their business development. James soon learned about the bank’s involvement in foreign bribery. He informed a regulator, which made no difference. James was dismissed when he attempted to press the issue. He enlisted the media in an attempt to prompt an investigation. Four years after James took the job at the bank, and with enormous effort by him and by journalists, Australia made its first ever charges of foreign bribery conspiracy. Key players were convicted and the bank was fined AU$19.8 million. Further convictions took place in the coming years. After leaving the bank, James took some time off. For a few years, he struggled to start his career. Then he became a senior manager for international relations at an Australian university. He has since moved on to a position as the relationship manager for a government-based innovation organisation.

The disclosure

A company (Securency) owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia hired James in 2007 to direct their business development. Within months of starting, James and another new recruit encountered fraud conspiracy among senior staff and a sister company, Note Printing Australia. They were involved in bribery in various countries, including Malaysia and Nigeria. James sought legal advice to protect himself. Although he urged his colleague to do the same, his colleague decided instead to speak with the managing director about what they had found. James’s colleague lost his job. James worked to expose the crimes and provided evidence to a regulator. Five months went by with no action, at which point he asked the regulator for an update. James was soon sacked, with no justifiable reason. James decided to engage the mainstream media and worked closely with journalists, forcing the regulator to conduct an extensive investigation.

In mid-2011, Australia made its first ever foreign bribery conspiracy convictions. Six executives and the bank itself were charged. Penalties of AU$19.8 million and $1.8 million were levied against Securency and Note Printing Australia. In 2012, 2016 and 2018, further convictions followed, including of two bank directors. While some large fines were exacted, the sentencing was light (including two suspended sentences of four and six months). This represents weak accountability for Australia’s most extensive foreign bribery deal, which involved Vietnam. The new role Like many of his whistleblowing counterparts, James struggled to find employment when he was sacked after making his disclosure.

Given his background in marketing and international relations, he was able to look outside of the banking sector for his next role. As of autumn 2018, he has returned to work for the Australian government, having moved on from a university position as senior manager of international relations. He is now the relationship manager of an innovation agency in Victoria. This is a century-old organisation that aims to drive scientific, technological and economic innovation in the education sector. 2 From his experience as a whistleblower, James now provides disclosure advice to others that need it. A parliamentary inquiry that took place after his disclosure may result in the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority in Australia. If this happens and the entity is properly resourced and supported, James hopes to collaborate with it in the future.

Factors that helped

Perseverance To get a break from the intensity of the whistleblowing experience as well as an unsuccessful job search, James decided to go to Cambodia, a place he had visited in the 1990s. He returned to Australia six months later to contribute to journalists’ investigation of his disclosure claims. A large accounting firm hired him around this time for part-time forensic work. He still could not find fulltime employment. In the wake of his disclosure, James suspected his career in the financial industry had come to a close. He expected to be perceived as “someone who's a troublemaker, someone who'll cause issues and problems, and isn't going to be a company man.”

He questioned the integrity of the entire banking sector in Australia. “This is our central bank, the top end… If these people aren’t clean and pure, then who is?” Indeed, James did receive his share of rejections from prospective employers. In spite of this, he continued searching, widening his scope until he secured a relationship management post in a university, something he was quite happy with.

Friends and Family Throughout his whistleblowing and jobhunting, James was assisted by reliable social ties. This circle included family members, friends, counsellors as well as new acquaintances made directly as a result of his disclosure experience. “People that get the full story [are rare]. You get good at just saying bits and pieces of it but not all.” He emphasises the benefit of having smart friends who “are quite fascinated by it and give you good feedback… they're good to discuss it with.”

Intelligent discussion with friends and one academic in particular gave James a much-needed sense of being understood on a deep level while also being able to process his experience. Paired with continuous morale provided by friends and family, this helped him in his applications to secure work.

Experience and Education

While James’s disclosure took place within the financial system, his role was around business development rather than, for instance, accounting. In his new job hunt, he began to focus more on skills he had learned and deployed in the past, allowing him to look beyond the sector in which he had blown the whistle. James’s education had begun in marketing, and later took a turn towards international relations and diplomacy, areas in which he acquired postgraduate qualifications before his work with Securency. As such, international relationship management roles such as the one he secured in the university were available to him.

Prior to his disclosure, James had held positions in other government agencies, including, for example, the Department of Defence. His most recent move into a government-owned innovation company made sense, given this precedent. Focusing on his attributes and abilities in this way facilitated James’s career redevelopment.

Summary

James today James blew the whistle on a foreign bribery ring within a national central bank. Because of this, he lost his job. Unthwarted in his pursuit of justice, he joined forces with the media to bring about convictions and fines against those responsible. His experience left him with a mistrust of the Australian financial industry. He found work in his area of expertise in a university and later progressed to an innovation initiative of the government. He continues to promote ethical business and transparency by advising other whistleblowers, and aspires to contribute to a potential whistleblower protection organisation in the future.

Read More: Details of the final convictions: https://www.cdpp.gov.au/case-reports/securency-and-note-printing-australia-foreign-briberyprosecutions-finalised James’s story as a whistleblower and his interactions with the media: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-a-meeting-in-a-cafe-with-a-journalist-promptedaustralia-s-biggest-foreign-bribery-case-20181127-p50inv.html

Kim Holt: Putting Patient Safety First

Introduction

Kim Holt was a consultant doctor employed by Great Ormond Street Hospital, a UK National Health Service trust in London. The trust had formed a partnership with Haringey TPCT to provide community paediatric services in Haringey. In 2006, along with three consultant colleagues Kim raised multiple concerns about the poorly-run community paediatric clinic. Under-resourcing, understaffing and inadequate administrative infrastructure, loss of notes, and a bullying culture put children at risk. Clinicians raised 60 incidents during 2006 but these did not lead to learning and correction of the systemic problems underpinning the service. Kim went on sick leave in February 2007.

In August 2007 a child, Peter Connelly, was seen by a locum paediatrician and two days later he died at the hands of his carers. This child became known as Baby P. The paediatrician was identified by the media which led to a witch hunt. Kim eventually brought her disclosures to a local MP, once she realised that the truth about the departmental resourcing and team dynamics were not being made public. Management at Haringey PCT figured out immediately who blew the whistle. Kim was kept on special leave from that department for four years before being reinstated in November 2011. Despite experiencing continual victimisation and bullying, Kim was promoted following her return. She returned to work for a new employer because Whittington Health had taken over Haringey community services.

Kim has since then used her influence to tackle issues of co-worker abuse, poor levels of clinic resourcing and patient neglect. She has also supported other people in the NHS who have concerns about patient care, fairness and workplace corruption and set up an organisation to continue this work, Patients First. This campaign group was wound down in 2018 because the demands were impossible to manage with a small group of volunteers. However Kim continues to campaign to improve the system that, she believes, should be protective of NHS staff speaking up.

The disclosure In the paediatric clinic where had Kim worked, children were being placed at risk by understaffing and ineffective administration. Key medical posts were left vacant. Important child protection schemes had been frozen since 2006. Nursing support in the clinic was lacking. An inadequate administrative infrastructure failed to correctly schedule appointments and properly maintain patient information. Avoidable deaths had occurred. Hospital management successfully covered up underlying flaws during 60 regulator inspections in 2006 that were prompted by Kim and other doctors on the team. Hodes and Sibert Royal College appointed investigators who were very concerned about the clinically unsafe service when they assessed the provision following Baby P death (Sibert report).

It was a massive decision, Kim explains, to seek intervention and make disclosures outside of the NHS. Predicting further fatalities, and because Baby P had been a vulnerable child who did not have parents speaking up for him, she felt compelled to try to prevent further similar incidents. Originally, Kim had faith in the NHS and had not anticipated backlash from management. During the process of speaking up, however, she quickly began to realise that she would likely lose her job. Her local MP took her disclosures seriously and spoke with the Chair of Haringey TPCT.

Although Kim’s identity remained confidential, the small number of doctors in the clinic made it easy to deduce who had blown the whistle. This resulted in further victimisation against Kim. Although the politician worked hard to escalate her concerns, Kim’s hope that the issues would be rectified dissipated over the years that followed. She turned to the media only in late 2009 after an investigation by NHS London was dragging on and it was clear that the NHS establishment was trying to protect Great Ormond Street rather than ensure real learning took place about Peter Connelly’s death. Her MP introduced her to journalists. She recalls how her first contact with a journalist “was a really scary time”. She reminded herself that “the overriding important thing was that people needed to understand what had happened in the service.” The bullying against her intensified. Colleagues isolated her. Teamwork and communication broke down. This further threatened patients. When Kim informed the CEO of Great Ormond Street about the reprisals, she was told that she had brought it on herself. There were no court proceedings in Kim’s case, although legal process was used eventually to prevent her from being sacked.

Her disclosures were not addressed at the time she and colleagues raised them. The department is now well staffed and has a robust child protection service, vastly superior to the service that was in place in 2007. Kim and colleagues wanted to keep working to fix the clinic from the inside, an opportunity she was granted after a long, tough struggle. The new role Kim was determined to continue working in the same department. "It is a point of principle," she noted. Thanks largely to her trade union and her husband, she got her job back in her original hospital four years after disclosing. Staff working at Haringey services were transferred from Great Ormond Street to Whittington Health. Following Baby P’s death there are now 6 paediatricians (full and part time) in Haringey community paediatric team. There is weekly peer review of all cases seen for child protection concerns. There is clinical supervision provided for all the consultants and there is now nursing assistant support. When near misses happen they are reported and looked into and efforts made to tighten the system There are improved working relationships with social care, and staff are wellmotivated to continually improve the service.

Having now been promoted a number of times, Kim is today one of the senior safeguarding leads for Haringey CCG, responsible for monitoring and supporting safeguarding across health teams in Haringey. While uniquely suited to this role, she does find the barriers to progress frustrating. “I personally have a lot of influential power… people are much more likely to listen to me… [But] it is slightly depressing in that, despite everything… services are getting further and further stretched, and staff are not necessarily always being cared for.” 3 Supporting NHS whistleblowers and campaigning for cultural change in the NHS are other activities in which Kim engages. Feeling a need to use her profile to effect change, she set up a dedicated organisation. “I found the couple of years where we campaigned [and met] politicians quite energising… I am always being asked to speak to people. We have definitely made a difference.” Factors that helped Supportive spouse

Trusting by nature, Kim was taken aback when her workplace retaliated harshly. Her husband, an experienced manager in the private sector, was able to coach her through the experience. During her leave, he accompanied her to meetings, helped her to understand the motivations of the other party and helped Kim to pursue her agenda. Late in 2007, for example, her employer attempted to pay her to resign. "[My husband] knew exactly what was going on… he took control of the meeting… I imagine a lot of people in that situation would be very deferential: ‘Oh, ok. Ok,’ - shocked and not know how to respond.” Kim believes support from a partner and colleagues is essential for whistleblower survival. Her husband constantly reminded her that she had not done anything wrong, that her superiors were wrong to treat her badly and that she had to stand up to them. His involvement forced the organisation to eventually offer Kim a secondment. Without him, Kim might not now be working in the public health system. Listening to her GP and other health professionals Blowing the whistle in a highly retaliatory environment had a devastating effect on Kim’s well-being.

The bullying culture of her workplace stemmed from, as Kim puts it, “an inhumane approach to managing,” where, as she notes, the attitude in response to doctors' concerns was, "Tough. You've got to get on with it." This management that didn't care about its personnel did not appear to care about its patients either. Helpless and in a double-bind, staff suffered from anxiety. Kim herself had become clinically depressed and her body started to shut down: “I had the insight to realise, ‘I am not able to function.’” She recalls that following her GP’s advice to take a break from work was one of her best decisions. The leave afforded her time to heal and a safe distance from an abusive environment.

Occupational doctors at the Great Ormond Street Occupational Health department gave Kim psychological support and protection. She cites them as saying that: "unless they [the organization] sort the bullying out… [and] that hostility to you and make sure there's enough doctors in the department… we can't allow you back." The employer “refused to admit it was a toxic environment… Occupational health doctors were saying, ‘It's not you. It's the department.’” Having these health professionals by her side and taking their advice helped Kim recover and be fit to return to work. Financial security Unlike some whistleblowers, Kim had a number of advantages. First, she was on paid leave for the years she spent out of work. This was because, after her health improved, she was placed on special leave by the Trust, and as such they were obligated to pay her. Most importantly her husband had a good income and was able to support their family during this time. Furthermore, although Kim did 4 take some legal counsel and bore associated costs, she did not have to meet the significant fees associated with protracted court battles. For these reasons, while the process incurred lost time, loss in career, and health problems, money was never a major stressor in her case. She recognises this is not the way things are for many others.

The fact that she was financially secure meant that Kim could focus her efforts on recovering her health and her job, and could possibly take more risks than others. Professional allies “You have to have the right people... a coalition of support,” Kim explains. During her absence, the clinic was taken over by another hospital. Her husband had helped her get back into the NHS; now, her trade union convinced the new management to bring her back because they needed doctors like her and she had done nothing wrong. “It is very easy for a story to be built up that I somehow had something to do with what went wrong… By me coming back, it was saying, ‘It wasn't her.’” Upon re-joining her old workplace, Kim realized that “obviously, the toxicity hadn't been properly addressed.” More work was needed. The reaction of colleagues is mixed nowadays, but it is mostly positive. “Some colleagues were very supportive the whole way through... Some of them have apologised… that happened very recently. Colleagues could see what was going on but they didn't feel able to say anything.”

Moreover, some of Kim’s colleagues have revealed to her their covert but active support while she was blowing the whistle. “There's a little group of us, actually, who all were talking to the press, all at the same time. I was the only one doing it publicly.” These others were quietly passing information and evidence to key journalists to support her story. Knowing that she had had allies during her disclosure helped Kim to reintegrate at work. Journalists and a scandal Kim believes that the “high profile” nature of her story saved her as a whistleblower. Her predictions that the clinic’s mismanagement would lead to other fatalities were correct. “It would have been such a scandal… to get rid of me… It's the high-profile thing: people understood the story, whereas with a lot of other whistleblowers, they find it very hard.” Having timidly approached journalists initially, Kim found they were one of her greatest career lifelines. “If it wasn't for journalists, I wouldn't be sat here… After [the hospital] promised that I was going to go back to my job, they advertised [her position]… I spoke to the BBC and they immediately phoned them and they pulled the advert straight away.” Today, Kim is still in contact with some journalists that worked on her story. “They had more integrity than a lot of these people in the NHS… they did a public service, as far as I'm concerned.”

Summary

Kim today Some years after her disclosure, Kim began studying again. She completed a Masters degree in Complex Care and Child Protection at the UK Tavistock Institute, more recently attaining the Nye Bevan NHS leadership award. The reflective work and self-evaluation that this period of study required helped her to process her whistleblowing experiences and to consider her future options. According to Kim, her disclosure journey has left scars of reduced self-confidence, greater distrust of people and a newfound hesitation to engage with the establishment. However, she sees that she has 5 made an impact, and has contributed to shifting healthcare towards increased compassion and putting patients' needs first. Publicly critical of the lack of transparency in the current health system, she seeks to find new ways to improve it, and collaborators with whom to work towards this. She wants to write a book, campaign more, train others, raise awareness and challenge organisational culture. “We just have to keep batting on [with] it, campaigning, making people realise that shutting people down is not the best way to go forward, that it wastes money, that it's inefficient.”

Martin: Hired for being a Whistleblower

Introduction

In his early career, Martin was a policeman in the UK, specialising in money laundering and international fraud cases. He was recruited to a major bank in London, where he was put in charge of preventing money laundering, and gained a significant pay rise. He continued working in banking and joined the London branch of the U.S.-based Wachovia, in 2005. Once there, Martin realised the institution was heavily involved in laundering money for criminals such as drug traffickers in a wide range of countries, including Mexico, Latvia and Russia. After blowing the whistle, internally and externally, Martin continued working at this bank for a while – until a report he wrote on ongoing and large-scale Russian fraud, and his blocking of related transactions, drew the ire of management. He was harassed and bullied for this, and he eventually issued employment tribunal proceedings against his employer.

A settlement was reached out of court. He was joined by the Department of Justice in pursuing the bank and his whistleblowing subsequently resulted in the organization having to pay a $160 million penalty in 2010. Although he says he would think twice about blowing the whistle again, Martin acknowledges that a lot of good has come of it, including the chance to, as he puts it, meet incredible people. He now works for an international news agency who hired him because of his whistleblowing, not in spite of it. The disclosure Wachovia was laundering money for foreign clients, including drug cartels in Mexico.

The nature of Martin’s role technically made him an unwitting whistleblower from the day he took the job: as an anti money laundering officer he was formally required to inform the authorities of illegal activity. Martin fulfilled his responsibility by raising the alarm repeatedly, both inside and outside of the organisation. The US authorities and regulators then took action against some of the bank’s clients. After disclosing, Martin was placed on sick leave, which eventually became unpaid. Contrary to some medical advice, he insisted upon returning to work Soon after, he had to file another whistleblower report. “They weren’t ready for me… I discovered further details related to another laundering system I’d been looking at before I went sick the previous year. The scale of the laundering using companies and partnerships incorporated in the UK had risen to some $3 billion. I suspected it was money from Russian organised crime being laundered through the bank." When he sought to notify the UK regulator, they replied saying they didn’t want to talk to him. Nonetheless, he filed another substantial whistleblowing report highlighting how, in his workplace, “the game was fraud and theft and money laundering.”

Martin was harassed and bullied for making his disclosures, so he pressed ahead with employment tribunal proceedings. The case was settled out of court, and the bank paid him to sign a confidentiality agreement.. The bank was fined $160 million in 2010, solely in relation to the Mexican drug money laundering. The new role Martin describes how the regulator, an organization he had perceived as an ally, had fabricated allegations and a false whistleblower report against him to obstruct his career. “When you blow the whistle on a bank, indirectly, you’re also blowing the whistle on regulatory failure… they even said, ‘It’s right to record intelligence against a person who may say something negative about the Regulator.’ I said, ‘… You’re telling me that you cannot take criticism and anybody who criticises you, you’ll create intelligence about them?” Unable to find work in the banking world, Martin suffered for some years as his attempts to find a role within a bank were repeatedly thwarted. He began consulting on anti-fraud and managing risk. This work brought him around the world, writing, lecturing, presenting and giving interviews.

In 2012, Martin saw an advertisement for a job with Thomson Reuters, an international news organisation and regulated foreign exchange trading business, and applied through an agent. Having already worked with some people from this company, he knew he would like a role there. His background placed him in an unusually strong position for their ‘Head of Financial Crime’ vacancy. He has been there ever since, advising clients on his specialist areas of anti-money laundering controls. Factors that helped Pivoting Martin explains that, as a whistleblower, you can either let the experience “become an anchor that drags you down” or else you can “take it and ride on the crest of a wave with it.” He chose to do the latter. Knowing that his career in banking itself was over, he looked to other ways of recreating a career path. He became a self-employed consultant on anti-money laundering and risk management. “It’s how you pack it, wrap it and spin it.” Martin made use of his connections and social media tools to cultivate a strong network, through which he could secure endorsements and further work.

This proved vital to getting back into well-paying employment. In fact, one of his consulting clients became his new employer. Financial Security Many whistleblowers suffer extreme financial hardship, which can have detrimental effects on their health and ability to work. Alternatively, it may mean that they have little option but to accept jobs that are low-paying and do not utilize their skills. For Martin, economic pressure was not a huge problem. For most of the whistleblowing process, he was salaried. When he was eventually placed on unpaid sick leave, he swiftly rectified this by going back to work. His insurance covered legal protection, so he could litigate without incurring expenses. Furthermore, he reached a financial settlement with the bank. While he might be earning more had he stayed in the bank, he does not regret what he did and acknowledges that he is well-paid in his current role. Education Martin’s qualifications helped him in his post-disclosure career survival. Before joining Wachovia, he already had an anti-money laundering diploma. After leaving, he undertook another diploma, in financial crime. This strong educational background aided him in his consultancy work and in securing his current position. Being a Whistleblower Unusually for whistleblowers, Martin was selected for the position he has worked in since 2012-head of financial crime at Thomson Reuters- precisely because of having made his disclosures. His prospective employer looked on it as a positive advantage for the organisation. During his application process for the role Martin was told, “We would like to employ a whistleblower, like you. We think you’re good for our company and good for what we stand for.”

Summary: Martin today

A highly-qualified and persevering individual, as are many whistleblowers, Martin has come through difficult times for the sake of social justice. His career was extinguished and yet he managed to gain a well-paying position. In the time between these stages, he worked as a specialist consultant, leveraging his experience in anti-fraud work and whistleblowing to survive. In the future, Martin may well return to consulting. He describes how he would like to see the banking industry become less passive about fraud and corruption. Given his success in the legal proceedings against Wachovia, perhaps his insight and rare expertise will contribute to a wider change in practice and policy.

Wendy Addison: Nothing Left to Lose

Introduction

Wendy Addison had worked for nearly eight years in the South African leisure and health club industry and was with LeisureNet Ltd when she made her disclosure. As the international group treasurer, she processed all large transactions. In 2000, she flagged some transactions that looked suspicious. She noticed fraudulent behaviour among the joint CEOs, which the Board did not know about. When she refused to authorise a €6 million payment that lacked legally-required documentation, the joint CEOs and members of her executive team threatened her. South Africa’s relatively high levels of political and corporate corruption made Wendy’s situation very difficult.

Her only perceived safe route was to anonymously tip off the revenue authority. The regulator immediately fired all the executives, including Wendy. Thanks to dual citizenship, she fled to the UK. Her new job there fell through when her whistleblowing story came to light. Her fight for justice against LeisureNet continued for eleven years, finally resulting in incarceration of the joint CEOs. Wendy’s entrepreneurial drive put her back on her feet. She started up multiple business projects and created a company that trains organisations on speaking out and listening up with courage, and supports other whistleblowers. She is a fierce promoter of speaking out and works to embolden people and equip them with the skills to voice their concerns in the workplace.

The disclosure

Wendy was the international group treasurer in South Africa when she blew the whistle. Her institution was bypassing government approval for offshore transfers of around €3 million to accounts in Spain and Jersey. Wendy directly questioned the directors about these transactions. This took them by surprise. Their unwillingness to discuss the matter created a troubling moral dilemma. These had long been Wendy’s friends but she could no longer trust them. Prior to this, she had envisioned her career progressing through the company until retirement. The disagreement came to a head when Wendy refused to act upon a slip of paper instructing her to send €6 million offshore. As always, she requested proper documentation. This sparked a series of threatening phone calls from the CEOs and from an attorney on the bank’s board who had previously been found guilty of corruption by a court. South Africa had no whistleblowing laws then. Internal auditors were kept in the dark. External auditors were considered by some commentators to be too friendly with CEOs to be impartial.

Wendy turned to the revenue services as an anonymous informant. An inquiry started the following week. The regulator suddenly - and unlawfully - fired all the senior executives, including Wendy. Seven years after the launch of the investigation, the corrupt parties were sentenced to jail. However, Wendy learned that the sentences weren’t enforced, and the convicts were "yachting around Mauritius, quaffing champagne." At this, she blew the whistle again and discovered that the whole case had been erased from the judicial database. She was empowered by principal and what she calls the ‘freedom of having nothing left to lose’ to take on the courts. In 2011, the joint CEOs of LeisureNet were imprisoned. Justice was finally secured and, in the process, South Africa was forced to rethink its approach to whistleblowers. The new role Having fled her country, Wendy and her twelve year old son suffered through a period of destitution.

An agency secured a senior role for her at the Virgin group in London. Six months later, she was informed that she was no longer welcome because of her earlier disclosure. It transpired that her new CEO was purchasing LeisureNet. “My wheels fell off emotionally, mentally, physically… cyberspace had captured [me] as a whistleblower of a public listed company that had liquidated. Not great for the C.V.” The agency didn't want to work with her again. “It was a hopeless situation because [prospective employers would have said] ‘Nobody’s been found guilty. You could be making up the story.’” Rejected by her industry, Wendy pivoted. She became self-employed, embarking on various projects. She took cleaning and carer jobs to get by. By developing her network, she began consulting and speaking on leadership development and performance optimisation. Nowadays, Wendy works on a voluntary basis with whistleblower groups as a motivational speaker.

She also founded SpeakOut SpeakUp, a company that trains organizations in building cultures that foster courageous conversations in order to perform better, and to operate better on behalf of society. She emphasises the ‘skill of speaking up,’ which she explains is unlearning the “obedience instilled in us by… authorities as children.” She recognises how difficult it can be to become ‘the dissenting voice.’ And how challenging it is to listen up to bad news. Wendy believes that, “As much as fear is infectious, so is courage.” She works to ‘infect’ society with courage, training prospective disclosers to raise issues, and affecting changes to legislation and culture. Factors that helped Trusting her ‘Ripple’ Perhaps as a reaction to childhood trauma, Wendy is skilled at adapting to adverse circumstances. She trusted herself, “placing hope in the long term, optimising for the long term, no matter how long that took.” In the UK, having fled death threats in the wake of her disclosure, Wendy supported herself and her child by begging on the street and squatting in a house. One day, she received £2. She recalls how, instead of looking back, she would decide that the following day, she would make her goal £5. When her post with Virgin in the UK was terminated, Wendy turned to enterprise. Her time on the streets gave her a sense of liberation that she used to apply herself to new business ventures and to effect cultural and legislative change around whistleblowing.

Her Son When Wendy migrated to the UK, she found herself alone in an unfamiliar country with no-one but her son. Her family could not help her. Her colleagues gave her no support and some of them threatened her life and that of her son. She describes her child as, “probably the one and only supporter of me” at that point. She stresses the importance of having him in her life. “It’s liberated me in so many ways to know that my son thought of me as his hero and has continued to support me… as he’s become an adult.” When her spirit was strained and she found herself with suicidal thoughts, he gave her the strength to keep going. “My love for my son kept me here.”

Reaching Out

Ironically, having to resort to begging when she fled South Africa gave Wendy an unprecedented sense of freedom that enabled her to follow her curiosity and contact renowned leaders in social psychology such as Philip Zimbardo. She was also encouraged by these new contacts to connect with whistleblower groups and to train in social psychology. Through all these ties, she has received support, training and advocacy work opportunities.

Summary

Wendy today After blowing the whistle on corruption in the firm she worked for, Wendy Addison and her young son faced death threats and destruction of her career and lifestyle. She sought refuge in the UK, where she saw little option but to take to the streets. Her industry was hostile towards her and she got by with menial work. In this struggle, she continued to fight to bring the CEOs of her firm to justice. Her instincts to follow her own interest in the reasons underlying corruption, along with trust in herself and the future, saw her connect with important relevant figures. These people opened doors to reshaping her career towards advocacy and training others around issues relating to whistleblowing. She continues her work to challenge policy and culture, as she brings her messages to an ever increasing audience through her own company, SpeakOut SpeakUp.

Further reading: https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/ex-leisurenet-treasurer-tells-of-abuses75344#.VO3WJvmsWSo https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/the-risks-of-exposing-corruption-3/ https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Leisurenet-bosses-lived-it-up-20011003

Dennis: the whistleblower who stayed 

Introduction

Dennis was a whistleblower in the banking industry who played a role in exposing a rogue trading scandal that cost the institution he worked for $360 million. He was not rejected by his employer after speaking up and, for twelve years after the disclosure, remained working there in a variety of senior roles across financial markets and corporate strategy. The experience did however spur a strong interest in human and organisational behaviour. He went on to pursue a degree in psychology by distance education and author an award winning book that explored the behavioural drivers of ethical failure. Shortly after publishing the book he left the bank and spent a short period of time working as an educator and advisor before taking on a role as a governance consultant at a large global professional services firm.

The disclosure

Dennis joined the National Australia Bank on a graduate program in their financial markets division. At the conclusion of the program, Dennis was appointed as a trainee to the FX options trading desk. Shortly after joining the desk, he was informed that certain transactions were being entered at incorrect rates to “smooth” the volatility in the desk’s reported daily profit and loss – the business was under pressure to reduce the volatility in its earnings. Several months later, he raised concerns with his direct report’s leader about a number of issues including the continued use of smoothing. His efforts largely fell on deaf ears and he suffered repercussions from his direct report as a result of this disclosure. Approximately one year later, he was informed by a senior trader he worked with that the desk was concealing losses in the vicinity of $70 million AUD. His initial reaction was to resign but he sought counsel from numerous people including his wife and close friends who encouraged him to say something.

The following day he spoke to a colleague at work who worked on a separate desk about the situation he found himself in and to this day Dennis believes he was pivotal to him raising concerns a second time. “He was extraordinary. He basically said to me in a very powerful way… that I had a moral responsibility to do something. [He] gave me the confidence that… something would happen this time.” When Dennis made an initial attempt to find the losses in the trading system, he could only find $40 million AUD which did not reconcile with what he had been told by the senior trader the previous day. Over the following 24 hours, thanks largely due to the efforts of a quantitative analyst working on the desk, the majority of the losses were uncovered. Unbeknown to Dennis, the methods being used to conceal the losses had evolved and become far more elaborate. Four traders were immediately placed on leave on full pay while a full investigation was conducted.

Following the investigation they were dismissed and a raft of other employees associated with the incident departed the bank. Court cases ensued in which Dennis appeared as a witness for the prosecution and all four traders were jailed. The new role The National Australia Bank were supportive of Dennis. He went on to spend a further six years in financial markets where he went on to lead an institutional foreign exchange sales 2 desk. Subsequent to this he spent five years in their corporate strategy function and during this time authored a book that used his experience on the FX options trading desk and the research in behavioural sciences to describe the origins of ethical failure. The bank was supportive of the book and the foreword was written by the Chairman. Shortly after the book was published, Dennis and the National Australia Bank amicably decided to part ways. He spent the next three years working as an educator and advisor. He formed relationships with prominent academics that enabled him to take an adjunct role at an Australian university (where he still lectures on business ethics for one of their Masters programs) and develop and facilitate ethical decision making workshops for organisations in the banking and finance industry. He was also a regular contributor to conferences, newspapers and blogs on discussions relating to ethics, leadership, conduct and culture and made submissions to parliamentary inquiries into whistleblower protection and the banking and finance industry. More recently, Dennis joined a large, global professional services firm where he continues to work as an advisor in the areas of governance, conduct and ethics.

Factors that helped

Supportive workplace Dennis acknowledges that he was very fortunate to be surrounded by very supportive colleagues at the National Australia Bank after the scandal was exposed. As noted, subsequent to the incident, in addition to dismissals, a raft of other employees left the bank. Therefore, Dennis did not find himself is an unenviable situation where he had to face into anyone who was remotely associated with or supportive of the wrongdoing. “If I found myself in an environment where I was ostracised or neglected, that would have made it really tough.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen to me.” Furthermore, those employees who did remain looked beyond the whistleblowing experience and promoted Dennis. “Instead of treating me as used goods, as is what happens to many whistleblowers, they kept supporting me, seeing me as someone who had potential and providing me with opportunities.” Dennis admits the period following the exposure of the losses was challenging. Although the National Australia Bank did all they could to protect his identity, Dennis was required to appear as a witness for the prosecution in the ensuing court cases. At this point his name became public and he began appearing in the media. This publicity can be troubling: “Your whole public image is in the hands of people you don't even know and they can write whatever they want.” Once again, his colleagues were instrumental in helping him get through this period.

According to Dennis, they showed “extraordinary empathy and understanding” and didn’t let the incident taint their opinion of him. “[They] didn't label me as a ‘whistleblower’ but rather kept viewing me as ‘Dennis’ who just happened to go through a unique experience. This really helped.” Among some colleagues, there was a degree of awkwardness; people weren’t sure whether or how to acknowledge the elephant in the room when Dennis was present. Significantly, though, and unlike in many other people’s stories, no aggression, bullying or exclusion took place. After an initial phase of adjustment, Dennis settled back in, the disclosure faded into the past and work became enjoyable and fulfilling once more. “I got to the point where I could have left the whole experience behind me as my career had moved on in different directions.” 

Supportive home life Social support boosts a person’s resilience and ability to deal with adversity, whistleblower or not. The kind of people we have around us directly influences our power to overcome challenges. Approval and backing from people in all spheres of his life made Dennis’s experience far less personally ruinous than that of many whistleblowers. Along with the acceptance and help he received from his employer and colleagues, his family and friends were there for him too. His wife, in particular, was an exceptional aid during his travails. “I think because I'd been very open with her throughout the ordeal, even with my concerns in the months leading up to the losses being exposed, she was very understanding with what I was going through. There were no surprises for her. And throughout it all, including the court cases where the defendant’s lawyers were doing their best to dismantle my credibility and character, my wife never flinched. It definitely helps, knowing you've got someone like that in your life, that regardless of what happens, you're coming home to someone who will be there for you.” The validation and assistance Dennis received from his community contributed to his coming through the process safely, being in a healthy position to return to work quickly and having the confidence to move forward in his career.

Managing self-concept In order to survive the disclosure intact and minimise ill effects on his future career, Dennis found it important to manage his outlook. The experience of speaking up had an enduring and profound effect on his outlook and self-concept. In the immediate aftermath, Dennis noticed his sense of morality had become very heightened and absolutist. “You become extraordinarily virtuous and self-righteous, to the point where you start seeing everything in black and white and failing to appreciate the shades of grey that exist in the world… the pendulum swings too far to the point where you prioritise integrity to the point where it is impractical and not sustainable. We're all flawed humans. We're all going to fall short at times… you begin to learn that to err is human and if you're not falling short, you probably aren’t challenging yourself enough. The key is to be aware when your principles are being challenged and thinking deeply about how you will respond when this happens.” His black-and-white mentality was short-lived, subsiding once the intensity and severe anxiety of the case faded on its completion. In the more long-term sense, Dennis’s mental health and his relationship to his work in the bank was not negatively impacted. His ability to bounce back from this extreme stance enabled him to regain the psychological balance necessary to continue working. Interestingly, it also gave him a different perspective on issues of morality and how malleable it can be. This contributed to his new pursuit to understand the behavioural elements involved in ethical failures.

Pursuing one’s passion Subsequent to the whistleblowing process, Dennis devoted a lot of time to self-reflection and thinking about life. He found his personal interests changing. This shift not only led him to obtain a degree in psychology: it also prompted him to start writing a book on these subjects. Because of his tendency towards privacy, he wanted to omit mention of his own personal experiences in the book. Friends, however, advised against this and so he touches on the disclosure to help illustrate insights and points in the book. Moreover, he reorientated his career, translating his newfound passion into a career in sense-giving (teaching at a university, giving talks and advocating for whistleblower rights and law reform) and sense-making  (research and writing).

He is aware of the power of his story to bolster this new work on business ethics. Some high-profile people helped Dennis reach the next stage. He sent the manuscript of his book to a world-renown academic that focuses on values-driven leadership. She told him it was very good and would get published. More networking led him to share his book with a former Australian government minister who said it was outstanding. He suggested that the chairman or CEO of the National Australia Bank would possibly consider launching the book. A few conversations with personnel in the bank and sharing the manuscript with them resulted in the chairman writing the foreword and the bank organising the book launch. The book’s success, along with his education and whistleblowing experience, has turned Dennis into a respected figure on business ethics and opened new doors into academia, public whistleblower advocacy and the private sector.

Summary

Dennis today Having played a role in bringing massive corruption to light at the National Australia Bank, Dennis is now an important voice against fraud. His journey, made all the more possible and smooth by very supportive bosses, colleagues, friends and family, drove him to obtain a degree in psychology and start a new chapter in his career. He now works in a large global professional service firm area of governance, conduct and ethics, teaches at a university and shares his learnings and thoughts with the public in a bid to improve whistleblower rights and protections. He is cautious not to make his experience define his identity. “Although I recognise my story is important and needs to be referenced, I don’t want it to be at the centre of everything I do in work and life. Ultimately, there is so much more to Dennis Gentilin than a single experience.”