The dastardly Mr. Deedes
Google’s silver-quiffed communications chief Peter Barron is leaving his lucrative role at the end of the month. Barron, 55, who edited Newsnight way back when it was still vaguely watchable, has been Google’s flak jacket for a decade, defending the fluffy tech firm’s negligible tax bill and other hypocrisies. He plans a genteel existence in rural Spain where he’s converting a barn.
Unilever is seeking a replacement for its peculiar chief Paul Polman, who’s expected to relinquish his £7.2m-a-year role next year. While some expect another marketing man like Tesco’s Dave Lewis, 52, a former protege of Polman, 61, the dominance of internet shopping has now widened Unilever’s net. Don’t be shocked if they opt for a sneaker-wearing jargonspouter from Silicon Valley.
Credit Suisse’s boss Tidjane Thiam has congratulated Switzerland’s Roger Federer on his ‘great achievement’ winning last weekend’s Australian Open. Tennis fans hope creaky Rodge, 36, will now soldier on until the 2020 Olympics. Facing a possible third straight year of losses, will £9.6m a-year Tidjane, 55, still be hanging around by then?
Re Polman: during a conference call with journalists yesterday, an ambitious young buck from Bloomberg gushed: ‘Paul, thank you so, so, so, so much for launching [razor subscription service] Dollar Shave Club. It’s been a year since I started using it and I’m a lot more handsome. I look forward to showing you the results when we next meet, perhaps over a glass of burgundy at your convenience?’ Steady on! Poor Polman might have to join #metoo campaign.
Ex-Shell boss Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, 77, has a novel way of solving Philip Hammond’s Brexit squabble with Boris Johnson. In the Financial Times, he says ex-Tory War Minister Viscount Castlereagh and Foreign Secretary George Canning settled differences with a duel on Putney Heath, in which Canning was shot in the leg. Chirps MM-S: ‘It would be faster and cheaper than a second referendum.’ Bluesky thinker MM-S is wasted in retirement.
Have you any gossip for our City diary? Email: mrdeedes@dailymail.co.uk