A Kiwi woman is at the centre of an insurance world scandal as her romantic entanglement with her boss cost him an executive role at a major financial institution. 

John Neal was set to take over as president of American Institute Group (AIG) before an investigation into an alleged affair with his subordinate was exposed, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

As CEO of Lloyd’s Bank, Neal began a romantic relationship with his direct report Rebekah Clement, a New Zealand woman who had worked for the company since 2015. 

He was just days away from assuming the role when it was jointly agreed he would no longer take the job for “personal reasons” on November 14. 

Lloyd’s opened an inquiry into the incident in October after chairman Charles Roxburgh “became aware of market speculation concerning possible historic breaches of policy”. 

Neal had promoted Clement to director of corporate affairs in 2023, amidst complaints from other employees alleging she was being treated preferentially. 

Sources said she has maintained her hiring followed the appropriate appointment processes. 

John Neal has lost a top role at AIG after his relationship with a Kiwi woman was revealed. Photo / Chris Ratcliffe, Bloomberg via Getty Images 

According to 1News, Clement previously served as press secretary to former Governors-General Sir Anand Satyanand and Sir Jerry Mateparae before moving into the insurance industry. 

She travelled to New Zealand with Neal for her birthday during the affair, the Insurance Business Magazine reported, before leaving the company in May of this year. 

No stranger to scandal, Neal had previously concealed a fling with his executive assistant during his tenure as chief executive of QBE Insurance Group, according to the New York Post. 

He spoke with Financial News about the incident in 2020, claiming he hadn’t taken his position into account when deciding when to disclose the relationship. 

“The board’s view was, ‘Well, actually, you’re the CEO of the company. So it’s got to be the earliest possible moment, and we don’t consider that that was early enough.’ So I absolutely respected that decision.” 

The Australian business cut his bonus by A$550,000 ($633,633) for the incident. 

In 2019, a year after Neal became CEO of Lloyd’s, Bloomberg detailed the company’s culture of binge drinking and sexually inappropriate behaviour in a lengthy expose. 

Neal subsequently vowed to address sexual harassment at the bank, telling the publication “this is not the Lloyd’s that I want to be part of”. 

“We have got to ensure that everybody, whether it’s a woman or a man, should feel safe at any time of day doing anything that’s associated with the Lloyd’s market. I’m determined that will be the case.”