Murray Lambell of eBay UK: ‘I was not comfortable to be out at work … and that limits you’

The online retail giant's boss is on a mission to make employee inclusivity a moral obligation' and to help his company adapt to a difficult post-pandemic marketplace

When corporate executives start discussing their efforts to influence company culture, a healthy amount of scepticism is advisable. But Murray Lambell, the UK boss of US online retail giant eBay, can draw on personal experience of the importance of how a business cares for staff. For many years he hid his sexuality from colleagues in a culture that was more stifled and stuffy internally".

It was probably my own baggage," he says. I was not comfortable to be out at work ... A lot of the leadership was white, middle-aged, from a very specific demographic and academic background, which didn't all resonate with me. I didn't feel comfortable to be a complete person at work and then that limits you."