City profiles

Mark Tucker HSBC’S new chairman has made history by becoming the first outsider in 151 years to chair the bank. He has plenty on his plate, says Management Today. HSBC’S profits fell 60% last year, and it is still dogged by “reputational problems” including money laundering and tax avoidance. A former Prudential boss, Tucker has spent most of his career in insurance, most recently running the Asian giant AIA. But he started out playing professional football, for Wolves, Barnet and Rochdale. Tucker’s love of the beautiful game has endured. He reportedly spent his 50th birthday “with black eyes and a broken nose” after being headbutted on the pitch the night before. “He’ll be hoping to avoid such scuffles in HSBC’S boardroom.”

Bill Ackman

The flamboyant billionaire behind the Pershing Square fund has finally thrown in the towel on “one of the most disastrous hedge fund investments ever”, said Nathan Vardi in Forbes. After losing nearly $4bn on an impulsive bet on Valeant Pharmaceuticals – a controversial outfit that borrowed heavily to vacuum up drug makers, and then massively hiked the prices of life-saving medicines – Ackman has sold out, declaring that the investment “required a disproportionately large amount of time and resources”. Shares in Valeant have fallen by 96% since their highs in the summer of 2015. Ackman’s reputation has been hammered too, said Vanity Fair. With his fund now reeling from an investor exodus, he is battling to ensure that Valeant does not become his “Waterloo”.