Any Other Business – 05/03
SOME of the City’s bankers are jetting off to sunny Madrid today for the launch of the European Diversity Awards. London’s finest could be collecting gongs for Company of the Year, Employee Network Group of the Year or Marketing Campaign of the Year, to name a few. “It is great that so many business leaders, particularly those from the financial industry, will be attending the European Diversity Awards launch,” said Google’s diversity chief Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe. And who’s going to represent us? Well, there’s Curtis Hess of Barclays, Societe Generale's Vincent Francois, Charles Ansdel of Santander and David Shields, the new head of diversity at commercial law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. Four blokes. There’s certainly not much gender diversity there.
ATTENDEES of the London Central Portfolio investment debate yesterday didn’t know their luck. Not only were they treated to a canape breakfast at the Ivy, they had BBC’s John Humphrys compering the event (live version of the Today programme anyone?) and the audience was encouraged to participate in the debate with the offer of a bottle of champagne for the best questions (and there were at least 10 bottles on the table). Audience participation was healthy to say the least, as the room debated the housing bubble and the safety of investments in central London property. Only problem was the debate ran over the 10am finishing time and by the end, most of the lively debaters had pushed off elsewhere leaving the panel confused as to who would get the booze.
The Capitalist was, as ever, only too happy to help.