Champion of better capitalism
UK Governance Reforms – Why Doesn’t Government Start By Taking Its Own Medicine? There are many ironies in the UK government’s review of corporate governance, as a new article on ft.com makes clear. It all started with the Prime Minister’s instincts that people … Continue readingUK Governance Reforms – Why Doesn’t Government Start By Taking Its Own Medicine?
Three big beasts in Aldeburgh For those who haven’t been there, Aldeburgh is a small town on the UK’s Suffolk (East Anglian) coast which is most often mentioned in despatches for its association with the composer Benjamin Britten and the quality of its fish … Continue readingBooks, wind and waves in Aldeburgh
For the last few weeks I’ve been bemoaning the lack of a positive vision of wealth creation from our political leaders. Today I’ve just listened to an inspiring BBC Radio 4 interview with Ailie Macadam, a senior Vice President of Bechtel and the woman … Continue readingA giant among pygmies
The good news is that Labour has listened to the voice of business, and its employees. It has recognized that customs union membership is the essential platform for supply chain effectiveness, business continuity and future investment in long term wealth creation. Not to mention the … Continue readingCorbyn’s Coventry Speech – the good news and the bad news
Over 25 years ago I spent a fascinating week in Silicon Valley, invited by an English venture capitalist to go and meet Intuit and Sequoia Capital and other important valley people. I was struck by the way the law firms and investment advisors worked for … Continue readingCarillion and its advisors: partners or observers in adversity?
In 2014 I was invited to be a speaker at India’s National Competitiveness Forum in New Delhi. It was an opportunity for private sector leaders, renowned thinkers and civil society leaders to discuss solutions to the pressing and emerging issues the country faced at this time. The … Continue readingSpeaking at India’s National Competitiveness Forum
Text of a talk given by me in Madrid on 13th January, 2017 to an audience of chairs, CEOs, NEDs, investors and advisors hosted by IC-A (the Spanish Institute of Directors). In 1976 I went walking in the Spanish Pyrenees. As it happens, I … Continue readingThe Future of Capitalism and the Company of Tomorrow
In spite of all the hullabaloo about Oxfam, let’s remember first that the appalling behaviour in Chad and in Haiti does not suddenly make the organisation a bad organisation. Oxfam does wonderful work on behalf of the poorest and in the face of terrible … Continue readingDig deeper
This is a speech I gave at the Institute of Directors in London, 2007 Nine Propositions that constitute an inclusive approach Let me begin by making nine common-sense propositions which I believe, say most of what needs to be said about the relationship between … Continue readingNine Propositions that constitute an inclusive approach
This letter appeared in The Financial Times on February 10th, 2001 When Oscar Wilde described a cynic as a man who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing, he was using the word “value” in its proper sense. The authors of … Continue readingA Wildean view of M&S shareholder value