People

Lenovo founder’s M&A manual is missing an update

19 Dec 2019

Liu Chuanzhi will retire as head of Legend Holdings, the $8 bln PC-maker’s parent. His 2005 purchase of an IBM unit was one of the best examples of a Chinese firm building a global brand through foreign deals. That playbook looks more like an exception to today’s hostile rule.

Bringing back Tata’s old boss offers no panacea

18 Dec 2019

A court has ordered the $160 bln Indian giant to reinstate Cyrus Mistry – ousted as chairman in 2016 – and declared his successor’s appointment illegal. The disruption may exacerbate Tata woes that range from cars to steel. And returns under Mistry were only slightly better.

Hadas: Maybe Paul Volcker wasn’t all that great

17 Dec 2019

The U.S. central banker, who died on Dec. 8, supposedly broke the 1970s inflation with recession-inducing high interest rates. After 40 years of falling inflation worldwide, his contribution looks less certain. He also missed an early chance to criticise financial deregulation.

India drops social wildfire on economic tinder

17 Dec 2019

A law easing the path to citizenship for some non-Muslim migrants has led to violent protests and a partial internet shutdown. Japan’s Shinzo Abe cancelled a visit. With growth slow and jobs a problem, it’s a risky time to tinker with divisive issues.

Hadas: Workers on boards make good capitalists

11 Dec 2019

A clever new study shows German companies whose employees sit on supervisory boards invest more than those without. Wages are higher and profitability is no lower. The model may be hard to replicate. Still, it’s a reminder that cooperation can outperform conflict.

Boomeranging dairy CEO milks the past

10 Dec 2019

New Zealand’s $7 bln a2 Milk is following a well-worn corporate playbook. Companies from Apple to P&G have brought back former bosses, with mixed results. In this case, Geoffrey Babidge’s track record should reassure, even if succession and strategy concerns cloud his return.

Now we’ve lost Paul Volcker, we must find another

9 Dec 2019

Opposed by politicians and economists, the former Fed chairman raised interest rates, overcoming inflation in the 1980s. A great central banker needs monetary policies that fit their time as well as rarer qualities like determination and integrity. Volcker had both.

DSM’s two new heads stretch sustainability halo

2 Dec 2019

Feike Sijbesma is leaving the $23 bln Dutch maker of food supplements and fibres. In 13 years as CEO, he championed planet-friendly businesses while delivering a 443% return to investors. Handing the job to two subordinates adds a governance challenge to sky-high expectations.

Nomura takes the easiest road with new CEO

2 Dec 2019

Koji Nagai performed poorly as boss and will now become chairman, a shareholder-unfriendly tradition in corporate Japan. Successor Kentaro Okuda’s time running the Americas unit supports the bank’s global goals. But a veteran pick is unlikely to bring fast fixes to bigger issues.

Review: Math steals the show in quant legend’s bio

22 Nov 2019

Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies is one of the most successful investors of all time, yet most people know little about the cagey mathematician. Gregory Zuckerman tries to change this in “The Man Who Solved the Market”. But algorithms are the real stars of this story.

Australia’s misbehaving banks run out of excuses

22 Nov 2019

Amid a $1.7 bln capital call, Westpac has been thwacked by a regulator for 23 mln money-laundering violations. Boss Brian Hartzer will find it hard to stay. The country’s lenders already have been shamed, fined and punished in other ways. It’s unclear how to set them straight.

Renault needs to break pay taboo to get right boss

18 Nov 2019

The French carmaker wants a new CEO, whose first job is to mend the Nissan relationship. But pay restraint at state-owned firms will deter contenders like Toyota’s Didier Leroy. Still, Air France busting its remuneration ceiling gives chair Jean-Dominique Senard some flexibility.

BHP boss hands over big shovel to successor

14 Nov 2019

Andrew Mackenzie departs the world's largest miner next month, leaving it in better shape than he found it. Veteran Mike Henry will face fresh challenges. He must make and sell a decision on a $20 bln potash project, and steer the steel ingredient producer into a greener era.

New Credit Suisse investment-bank chief needs axe

11 Nov 2019

David Miller is taking over from James Amine, who helped run the unit for a decade. His top priority is to stop losing market share in key businesses like advising on deals. However, costs also look high, despite recent restructuring. There’s an argument for more cuts.

China’s ultra-rich feel a very small pinch

11 Nov 2019

Alibaba's Jack Ma and fellow billionaires saw their net worth drop 12% in 2018. That’s steeper than for peers globally, in part due to a weaker yuan. But the number of super-tycoons shrank too, a reminder that wealth is concentrating even at the top of China's economic pyramid.

Review: #MeToo comes out of the shadows

25 Oct 2019

The casting couch is a Hollywood trope, but it's real for many women. Yet exposing their mistreatment is daunting, and not just because it requires courage. Two books about the fall of media mogul Harvey Weinstein show the insidious role of legal agreements that muzzle victims.

Hong Kong seeks new traffic cop for wonky market

15 Oct 2019

Ashley Alder made the best of a middling job as chief securities regulator. He made progress fighting shoddy IPOs, though failed to stop dual-voting share structures. His successor could tackle the SFC’s slow enforcement, but will still be stuck between powerful vested interests.

Swiss bank spy fiasco puts UBS succession in frame

4 Oct 2019

While Credit Suisse embarrassed itself with its recent surveillance of Iqbal Khan, the fiasco raised questions about who will succeed Sergio Ermotti atop arch-rival UBS. Strong internal contenders have departed, and Khan just arrived. Ermotti may need to postpone his retirement.

Imperial Brands hunts for new boss at a bad time

3 Oct 2019

CEO Alison Cooper is on the way out. The 17 bln pound company is shifting its focus to vapes rather than tobacco while facing regulatory scrutiny about how deadly the former are. Selling bits of the business in tricky markets is another challenge. The job will be a hard sell.

Gilbert exits Standard Life Aberdeen with whimper

2 Oct 2019

The former co-CEO of the $8 bln asset manager will step down as vice chairman next year. His departure removes management clutter. But with shares off over a third since 2017, the best argument for the merger he led is that without it, things would have been even worse.