Pouring cold water on the Co-op’s big day
We imagine that when the Co-op top brass were preparing for the troubled mutual’s half-year results yesterday they realised the importance of presenting a united front and demonstrating why people should shop there.
So it can probably be safely assumed that Nick Folland, director of external affairs, was not following the script when he slapped down a bottle of “Still Scottish” mineral water from Sainsbury’s on the boardroom table. Perhaps the water sold in the Co-op is not as thirst-quenching, or maybe the Sainsbury’s one was more convenient for the Co-op man.
Montague takes off
Is there no sector untouched by the ubiquitous boardroom schmoozer Sir Adrian Montague, the sometime chairman of British Energy, Crossrail, Anglian Water, Friends Provident, 3i and senior non-executive at Aviva, Skanska, Cellmark, Network Rail and the Green Investment Bank? Sir Adrian has just been appointed to the chairmanship of Manchester Airports Group, which should at least give him priority terminal security passes to help him with his busy schedule.
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BP��s nuclear power
On the day that BP faces paying much higher penalties over the Deepwater disaster, we hear that Geoff Morrell, a former press secretary of the Pentagon, has been busy recounting the slick moves the White House considered in a an effort to try to halt the oil spill in 2010.
Mr Morrell, now chief spinner at BP, told the Society of Environmental Journalists that the US administration was so desperate to stop millions of barrels of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico that it considered pressing the nuclear button — literally. Mr Morrell recalls: “The story even reached the Pentagon briefing room. At one point, I had to kill the absurd suggestion that the military detonate a small nuclear device to shut in the well.”
Food with a view
Most Londoners won’t be able to afford a flat at the Battersea Power Station development, but they will be able to console themselves with a visit for a slap-up meal.
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The Malaysian owners of the station and Rob Tincknell, their man in London, are starting a global tour to find “the most exciting UK and global brands, businesses and restaurants to bring alive . . . the capital’s largest and most central development”. With 115 retail and food and beverage outlets alone in the former power station, there should be more than enough choice.
Business Big Shot
Name Andrew Woodley
Position Chief Executive, Mongolia Oyu Tolgoi Copper Mine
As jobs go, it is one of the more challenging, requiring relocation to Ulan Bator and taking over a mine that has been hit by delays, but Andrew Woodley believes he is up for the challenge. Yesterday, Rio Tinto announced that he would run its $6.5 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold deposit in Mongolia as the mining giant prepares to restart work on the long-postponed second phase. Among the early tasks for Mr Woodley, who has worked at Rio for 18 years, is resolving a $130 million tax dispute with local authorities and securing a $4 billion financing package to fund construction.