Uber appoints Barney Harford as its first ever chief operating officer – a Brit and former Orbitz chief executive December 20, 2017 Uber has appointed its first ever operating chief – a British executive from the travel world who previously worked with the startup’s newly installed chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi. Barney Harford will take on the leadership role which was first floated under former chief and founder Travis Kalanick to keep him in check. Read more: It’s [...]
Ted Baker staff launch petition over boss’s unwanted ‘hugs’ and alleged harassment December 2, 2018 Staff at Ted Baker have launched a petition calling for an end to a culture of “forced hugs” and unwanted attention from the company’s founder and boss. A employee-launched petition accuses chief executive Ray Kelvin of inappropriate behaviour and comments to staff. “He'll want to brush this under the carpet,” the petition’s author wrote. “But [...]
Priti dire: No way forward for May’s shambolic government November 9, 2017 Where to start with the Priti Patel case? The secretary for international development has created a media storm of such epic proportions that it has clouded out all the other competing scandals within Theresa May’s cabinet (more on them later). To recap, it transpired last week that Patel had held undisclosed meetings with key Israeli [...]
Presidents Club scandal: DfE director David Meller stepping down – but families minister Nadhim Zahawi stays January 24, 2018 David Meller is stepping down as one of the directors of the board of the Department for Education, but minister Nadhim Zahawi will stay on, the government confirmed today. Skills minister Anne Milton said Meller told the House of Commons this afternoon that Meller, one of the joint chairmen of the Presidents Club Charity Dinner, [...]
UBS hires Freshfields to help with misconduct procedure investigation after rape allegation August 29, 2018 UBS has hired magic circle law firm Freshfields to carry out a review of its misconduct procedures after a young female trainee alleged a senior colleague raped her. In a statement, UBS said it “has decided to conduct a review, as we regularly do after significant cases”. UBS had not instigated a disciplinary procedure against [...]
The sexism scandal hasn’t hit the City yet: That doesn’t mean it’s immune November 3, 2017 It has been hailed as a revolution and bemoaned as a witch hunt. But what the scandal currently snaking through the corridors of Westminster is rapidly teaching us is that very few women exist who do not have a grizzly tale of workplace discrimination, whether it is from colleagues they should have been able to [...]
Rupert Murdoch denies a “retreat” as Disney confirms buyout of 21st Century Fox assets for $52bn December 14, 2017 Rupert Murdoch denied today that his family was “retreating” as his media empire was broken up by a $52bn (£39bn) sale of 21st Century Fox assets to Disney. “I know a lot of you are wondering, why have the Murdochs come to such a momentous decision?” the recently married 86-year-old said on a call with [...]
Michael Gove apologises for Harvey Weinstein sex assault “joke” on radio October 28, 2017 The environment secretary Michael Gove has apologised for a “clumsy” joke referencing Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of multiple counts of sexual assault, on a BBC radio programme. Speaking on a special 60th anniversary edition of Radio 4’s Today, the Conservative MP told interviewer John Humphrys that going into the studio “is a bit [...]
Uber has been behaving like a tech teenager – it’s time to grow up November 27, 2017 When Dara Khosrowshahi was ushered in as the new broom at Uber in August, he can’t have realised the full extent of the mess he had been tasked with clearing up. Damaging claims of sexual harassment that came to light in February were superseded in September by the dramatic decision to strip Uber of its [...]
Ford VP Stephen Armstrong and BT Group chief executive Gavin Patterson warn over Brexit transition deal ‘certainty’ November 6, 2017 Bosses of Ford and BT have today ramped up their warnings over the need for clarity on Brexit, identifying early next year as the point of no return for a transition deal to be struck. Steven Armstrong, vice president of EMEA for Ford, said although the auto firm was “the poster boy” for globalisation it [...]