Harrods boss resigns from Opera House board

The Managing Director of Harrods has apologised and stepped back from his role as a trustee of Royal Ballet and Opera amid an independent review following allegations of sexual misconduct by the department store’s former owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Michael Ward, who has worked for Harrods since 2006 and for Al Fayed for four years, said he had “stepped back” from all his charity trustee positions while an independent review led by a non-executive committee of the department store’s board takes place.

The review will consider issues arising from several allegations of rape and sexual misconduct made against Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94.

Ward became a trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera in 2022 and sat on the Finance and Commercial Committee. He was also appointed to the V&A Corporate Advisory Board in August 2020.

In a statement shared with The Guardian, Ward said that Harrods had failed employees by allowing Al Fayed to preside over “a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct” but said he was “not aware of his criminality and abuse”.

A Royal Ballet and Opera spokesperson told Arts Professional: “We accepted Michael Ward’s resignation from our Board on 25 September. We'll be looking for a successor in due course.”