New chief of FTSE giant entangled in tech firm scandal

THE new chairman of a FTSE mining giant was embroiled in a tech company that has collapsed amid a scandal.

stuart Chambers, one of the City’s biggest names, was yesterday appointed to take on the top job at Anglo American.

however, the Mail can also reveal he was made chairman of Ve Interactive, which was touted as one of Britain’s fastest-growing tech firms, shortly before it fell into administration.

Ve is at the centre of a scandal over payments to staff and the role of exboss and founder David Brown.

Chambers remained an adviser to the company even as investors tried to rescue it by pumping in cash and Brown was pushed out.

Administrators are now investigating the firm’s financial dealings under Brown and have hired lawyers to help.

It is not clear how much Chambers knew of the company’s financial situation. he could not be reached for comment yesterday.

One source close to Ve said: ‘Chambers had a very lucky escape… he has a very good reputation. he was brought in for a reason that didn’t happen.’

Ve, which analyses internet data to help businesses target their adverts, was valued at more than £1bn and was feted as a ‘unicorn’ of the tech industry.

Chambers was named chairman last November, in a coup for Brown, who described the hire as a ‘ powerful endorsement of Ve’s business’.

Chambers had been chair of tech giant ARM holdings before it was controversially sold to Japanese giant softbank last year and his appointment was made just weeks after ARM was sold for £24.3bn. he stood to make £670,000 from the deal which he negotiated while sailing in his yacht.

he was also at the helm of Pilkington Glass and Rexam when they were sold to overseas investors.

A few weeks after his appointment at Ve, Brown tweeted a picture ( above) of the grinning pair on what is claimed to be a busi- ness trip to Monaco. At the time Chambers said: ‘I have rarely come across a company which is as rich in entrepreneurial spirit and innovation as Ve and which has managed to combine these so effectively to achieve such broad international and commercial reach.’ But Ve, which employed 256 directly and hundreds more through subsidiaries, had been loss-making from the beginning.

By the end of 2016 it had to pay staff salaries late. hMRC tried to have the company wound up in February 2017, according to documents filed at Companies house, and in April the taxman acted again, publishing a second winding-up petition.

Administrators were called in and investors, including billionaire Douglas Barrowman who had helped to pump in £3m in March, bought the company for £2m, renaming it Ve Global.

Chambers had been due to take up his role as chairman in January, but it was delayed. Then in March the company said he would not fill the post.

he is now set to replace sir John Parker as chairman of Anglo American, earning around £700,000 a year. Brown could not be reached for comment.