Life lessons for new boss

THErE is a tendency for big financial groups to think that all wisdom lies outside their own headquarters. So it is reassuring that aviva has chosen to fix last year’s sudden departure of chief executive Mark Wilson from inside.

in choosing Scottish-born canadian Maurice Tulloch, the insurer is following a well-trodden path.

The Prudential boss Mike Wells is canadian as, of course, is the boss of their prudential regulator Mark carney at the Bank of England.

Tulloch appears to recognise the need for a shake-up in the way insurance is sold in the uK. instead of loyalty being rewarded by discounts and bonuses, aviva and its cohorts have, until now, regarded it as fine to charge existing customers ever higher prices. Tulloch wants to end the rip-offs.

This, partly, will be addressed by aviva Plus, which seeks to make insurance more flexible and transparent by putting it on a pay-as-you-go basis.

as the previous head of aviva’s international operations, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Tulloch were to bring a halt to some expensive bets on the Pacific to concentrate on core markets in Britain, North america and Europe. The latter has seen a recent resurgence. The new chief executive should also take a good look at aviva investors, which with £350bn of assets is one of the uK’s most significant long-funds.

There has been a tendency, presumably intended to drive short-term performance, to back mavericks over established management. until the Barclays saga, aviva was a backer of Edward Bramson of Sherborne as he disembowelled F&c and Electra. it also sided with get-rich-quick executives at Melrose in the winning battle for GKN. None of that is the long view we should expect from the biggest investors on our behalf.

Big squeeze

THE departure of ray Kelvin from Ted Baker, the eclectic billion-pound fashion empire he created, lifted a shadow after disclosures of his over-enthusiastic displays of affection for staff.

at 63, Kelvin might have wanted to take a back seat anyway after a 35-year drive to create an upmarket clothing brand.

The removal of an inspiring force from a fashion brand will make life difficult for successor Lindsay Page.

Ted Baker’s quirky shirts and other apparel have found a ready market in the uK’s better department stores, in the uS and at airports.

Not only will Page have to deal with the cultural fallout from the ‘hugging’ scandal, he has big shoes to fill. in fashion, success is very bound up with ownership and commitment.

arguably Marks & Spencer has never been the same since the departure of Sir rick Greenbury, the last link to the founding dynasties.

Last week we learned how LK Bennett went downhill after founder Linda Bennett sold out to private equity. Her return came too late to stem the rot.

With 35pc of the equity, ray Kelvin may never be totally banished from the company unless he chooses to sell down his stake. alternatively he could plot a comeback with a private equity partner.

With the shares sharply down, the company could also attract the attention of one of the other luxury clothing brands.

Kelvin’s ability to rebuild his reputation will largely depend on the report commissioned from city lawyers Herbert Smith Freehills. We have sort of been here before. When WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell agreed to become a ‘good leaver’, a legal inquiry into his alleged indiscretions conducted by uS firm WilmerHale quietly ended, and to this day the report remains unpublished.

The Ted Baker founder is doing the right thing by leaving without a payoff.

There are many rich people who think it is fine to squeeze every penny out of their former employers at the expense of coworkers and investors.

There is pathos in the Kelvin story. The entrepreneur who made a fetish of personal privacy, refusing to show his face for publicity shots, is firmly in the public eye.

Precious metal

GoLD might seem the most glistening metal of the moment with Barrick seeking to get its hands on colorado-based Newmont, having recently absorbed randgold.

But the real prize at present is palladium, a vital ingredient for fuel cells, currently trading at $1,524 an ounce and heading towards $1,700.

No wonder miner anglo-american, with big exposures to the metal (and not just its fat- cat chief executive Mark cutifani), is doing so well.