Patterson makes quite an impression in interview
Management Today has gone all weak at the knees at the sight of Gavin Patterson, the mullet-haired chief executive of BT. Its interview with Mr Patterson starts by describing him as “so handsome and well groomed he should be heading Armani, not a vast, techy monolith like BT”. It didn’t stop there: “Slim, tall, chisel-jawed, dark-eyed, luxuriant-haired, gentle and genial in manner, the 46-year-old seems altogether too glossy a package to be heading a crusty FTSE 100 giant.” Poor Ben Verwaayen, BT’s former chief executive, was described as “pixie-sized”. Perhaps they should offer Mr Patterson a new job as their monthly centrefold model.
Start as you mean to go on
Most of us mere mortals were dropped off on our first day of university in our parents’ Ford Focus, filled to the brim with Pot Noodles or super noodles (depending on your preference), baked beans and beers. Now, students who want to be the envy of their peers can turn up in a private jet, a helicopter, even a horse and carriage. Or can they? Uni Baggage claims to have launched the Very Important Fresher service to help them to travel in style — which, in some cases, will cost only £25,000. We have reservations not only about how impressed students will be when a new housemate turns up in a horse and carriage but also whether Twitter followers are right — and the service is a spoof.
Back in the gaffe
Howard Archer, whose daily commentary on economic data arrives as reliably as the tides, has returned after a holiday. However, IHS’s economist clearly was still in vacation mode and failed to notice an error in his comment on the Bank of England’s mortgage data: “Sorry — but I have not managed to eradicate my propensity for gaffes while on holiday. There should have been a paragraph deleted in the consumer credit section, which was from last month.” Oops.
Practise what you preach
The executive search firm that hired Rupert Soames for the top job as Serco has struck again, this time for itself. Zygos, which searches for chief executives et al, has poached Luke Meynell from its rival Russell Reynolds Associates to become a managing partner from January.