City profiles

Philip Hammond

“Small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the British economy.” Thus spake Britain’s former chancellor, says Katherine Griffiths in The Times. And today his latest job is all about funding them. Hammond, 64, has joined the board of OakNorth – a digital lender, founded in 2015, which aims to go where mainstream banks fear to tread. OakNorth is the second company Hammond has joined since leaving politics last month: he’s also a director of Ardagh Group, an Irish producer of glass and metal containers, which is listed in New York. Fortunately, when it comes to balancing the books, OakNorth seems a winning proposition – it is “one of the only” UK fintech companies “to have broken into profitability”, and is backed by the might of SoftBank’s Vision Fund.

Lord (Paul) Drayson

When the former Labour science minister floated his newest start-up, Sensyne Health, two years ago, he vowed to realise the potential of artificial intelligence in health care “in an ethical way”, says The Sunday Times. That vow is now ringing rather hollow. Shares in the outfit have lost nearly three-quarters of their value, the company is on its fourth chairman and Drayson, who has declined to answer questions, is fighting for his reputation. A former amateur racing driver, Drayson, 59, started out in biotech before moving into politics. His first start-up, Powderject, was sold to a US rival for $800m in 2003. Those close to him don’t expect him to be down for long. “Paul is a force to be reckoned with – he’s used to getting his own way.”