surprised to see calls for his departure since Barclays had taken the advice of its lawyers to cooperate in the investigation and be first bank to settle the charges. Diamond's resignation under pressure was controversial. The New York Times noted that Diamond's role in the scandal was minimal and suggested that the real reason for his sacking was that he had become the "unacceptable face of banking". The Financial Times reported that "After the financial crisis, the British establishment became very divided over what's the model for the big banks that we want to see. Bob represented investment banking big time. He represented the success of it — but also the sense that investment banking is dicey and not a completely sound business. He represented a way of doing business that we've become very uncomfortable with." In March 2013, Diamond was set to be paid about £2m ($3m) in July, a year after he left the bank following its Libor interest rate fixing scandal. Atlas Mara Limited: 2013 to date On November 28, 2013, Diamond and Rwandan-based entrepreneur Ashish Thakkar founded Atlas Mara, a company whose focus is banking in the African continent. The company was listed on the Alternative Investment Market in the UK on December 17, 2013 through an IPO which raised US$325 million. As of 15 November 2021, the stock price had crashed and had lost over 99% of its IPO price (issued at £10.20, last trade at 9.95 pence). The ticker symbol in London is "ATMA.LN". It trades in the United States on the Pink Sheets under the ticker symbol "AAMAF". Diamond stepped down from management of Atlas Mara in February 2019 but remains a director. Personal life Diamond married his wife, Jennifer, an engineer from Michigan, in 1983. They have three children. Diamond is a Republican and was an adviser to Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson in 2008. Diamond is chairman of the board of trustees of Colby College in Waterville, Maine; chairman of Old Vic Productions Plc; trustee of The Mayor's Fund for London; he was a member of the advisory board, Judge Business School at Cambridge University; member of international advisory board, British–American Business Council; life member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and member of the Atlantic Council. Diamond, along with his wife Jennifer, is a founding circle member of The Nantucket Project, an annual festival of ideas on Nantucket, Massachusetts.