The dastardly Mr Deedes
Wealthy public relations tycoon Sir Alan Parker, 60, who advises swathes of FTSE 100 firms, revels in his influence across business and politics. Colleagues report he’s like a munificent squire since he was knighted in 2014. Meanwhile, his great rival, serpentine Roland Rudd, 55, is licking his wounds after his tireless fundraising for the Remain campaign ended in failure. As such, Rudd’s muchfeted prospects of a knighthood look dead in the water. ‘Alan is not crowing about this at all,’ smirks my source.
Self-assured former Goldman Sachs bigwig Lord (Paul) Deighton, 60, who replaces Sir Nigel Rudd as Heathrow chairman in September, will be dismayed David Cameron has delayed the decision on airport expansion until he’s handed over to his successor. Heathrow bosses hoped Deighton’s close relationship with Chancellor George Osborne, whom he served under as a Treasury minister, would help convince the Government of its claims on a third runway. Fat lot of good that relationship will be now Osborne’s packing his bags.
Credit Suisse’s cultivated boss Tidjane Thiam is a man under siege. Since he arrived from Prudential last summer, shares in the bank have tanked 50pc. Employees are said to hiss whenever his svelte form appears on television. Andreas Brun, analyst with rival bank. Zuercher Kantonalbank, jokes: ‘At the beginning everyone thought he could walk on water. Nowadays everyone thinks he struggles to swim.’ Ze Swiss sense of humour is no laughing matter, but how long can Tidjane, 53, survive?
Buxom city superwoman Nicola Horlick’s husband, City writer Martin Baker, has received funding from Aberdeen Asset Management’s crimson-cheeked boss Martin Gilbert, 60, for his new publishing house Wet Zebra. Shouldn’t Baker commission his missus, 55, to pen her life story? After successfully balancing a high-flying City career with raising six children, hers is a compelling narrative. Readers might also want to hear how one of Horlick’s funds was a victim of US fraudster Bernie Maddoff.
Theresa May for PM? Unlike recent Number 10 occupants, she knows her way around the City. She spent six years working at the Bank of England. Wonder if she retains the same enthusiasm as Cameron and Osborne for our current governor, Goldman Sachs alumnus Mark Carney?