The dastardly Mr Deedes
Next week’s Great British Bake Off features Selasi Gbormittah, whose day job is working as a trader at Deutsche Bank. Ghanaian-born Selasi, 30, who sits on Deutsche’s global transactions desk, often arranges charity bake sales at the bank. Colleagues at the German firm are frequently ‘blown away’ by his beautiful cupcakes, apparently. Is a new career in the offing? Troubled Deutsche’s share price has been collapsing like an ill-timed soufflé.
Santander’s £650,000-a-year chairman Baroness Vadera, a former Treasury minister under Gordon Brown, is on a leave of absence from the House of Lords. She is currently preoccupied with her highpowered business commitments, which, on top of her Santander berth, include wellrewarded directorships at AstraZeneca and BHP Billiton. As well as a fierce intellect, redoubtable Shriti, 54, has always retained lavish tastes. An acquaintance at Oxford claimed she liked to boast of her preference for expensive silk undergarments.
Deposed Burberry boss, sparky northerner Christopher Bailey, 45, says of being recently shunted back to creative duties: ‘I need to focus more on the things that a customer sees and feels and touches and smells.’ Relinquishing his daft, meaningless new title of president – usually the preserve of retiring company grandees – wouldn’t go amiss, either.
Insurance firm Admiral’s wonkish new boss David Stevens left journalists hanging yesterday morning, during a conference call to discuss the firm’s half-year results. As the firm’s share price was tanking 8pc hacks were left listening to dreary muzak for 20 minutes. When Stevens, 54, finally came on the line, he remarked nonchalantly: ‘Sorry to keep you, I was enjoying chatting with the analysts.’ Top marks for audacity!
Defence firm Cobham, specialists in missile guidance systems, announced the appointment of its Pickwickian new boss, David Lockwood, with the following blurb: ‘David is currently chief executive of Laird where he has built the company into a focused enterprise connectivity company with leading positions in the connected transport and consumer device markets, delivering sustained organic growth.’ Lockwood should arrange a missile strike on whoever penned such corporate claptrap.
Have you any gossip for our City diary? Email: mrdeedes@dailymail.co.uk