People

Wanted: candidates for Europe’s toughest bank job

6 Apr 2018

Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner is seeking to replace CEO John Cryan. The lender needs someone who can motivate traders while slashing costs, and take on Wall Street without neglecting Germany. Breakingviews imagines the pitch headhunters have sent to potential candidates.

Sorrell saga points to boardroom rift at WPP

4 Apr 2018

The ad group is investigating allegations of “personal misconduct” against its 73-year-old CEO, which he denies. The leaked probe suggests some directors have misgivings following a share-price slide. The bigger problem, though, is WPP’s structurally-threatened business model.

Smith & Nephew’s new boss has two rehab options

4 Apr 2018

CEO Namal Nawana has to revive mediocre top-line growth and slash costs at the artificial-knee maker. A flair for turnarounds should keep activist Elliott at bay for now. And the sale of the last company he headed shows an appetite for more drastic prescriptions when necessary.

Deutsche CEO quest will be hard work

27 Mar 2018

The German lender has begun looking for a new boss. Replacing John Cryan may prove difficult until the company figures out whether to be a global investment bank or return to its more modest corporate lending roots. Nor are there obvious fixes for an ailing business model.

Li Ka-shing’s exit ushers in new era for tycoons

16 Mar 2018

The Hong Kong magnate built a property-to-telecoms empire. At 89, Li retires as the city faces economic and political uncertainty, while protectionism globally is on the rise. For his son and successor, Victor Li, replicating the returns his father delivered will be tough going.

AIA’s warchest is good omen for investors

27 Feb 2018

After a 28 pct surge in new business last year, the Asian life insurer is sitting on a cool $12 bln. It is hard to see all of that being consumed by modest M&A or investments in growth. That means before long shareholders should be in line for a big special dividend or buyback.

McKinsey’s next leader inherits a big project

26 Feb 2018

Kevin Sneader has been chosen to run the elite consultancy. He’s a traditional-looking candidate but a stint in Asia suggests growth markets are a priority. The challenge is to keep digital reinvention on track and avoid embarrassments like that recently suffered in South Africa.

Gulliver exits HSBC with nearly full scorecard

20 Feb 2018

The departing CEO largely achieved his goal of creating a “simpler, stronger” bank. Though return on equity was below 10 pct last year, higher interest rates and fewer fines will help HSBC hit that target too. Successor John Flint’s challenge is to identify new sources of growth.

Spain’s ECB victory is really a win for Germany

19 Feb 2018

The only person left in the race to become European Central Bank vice president is Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos. It’s thus likely that the top job will go to a northern European in 2019. That will please Germans keen for an end to unorthodox monetary policies.

Bank of Japan’s Kuroda bags a tricky second term

16 Feb 2018

Continuity in Japan contrasts with a changing of the guard at U.S. and European central banks. Haruhiko Kuroda is unlikely to wind up asset-buying or ramp it up a lot. But he must handle the backdraft from policy changes elsewhere and has limited scope to fight the next crisis.

Swire wisely calls on family to steady the plane

9 Feb 2018

The venerable Anglo-Asian conglomerate named a family member as chairman of its flagship Hong Kong unit. That signals it is taking problems at Cathay Pacific Airways and in oilfield services seriously. This could be good news for long-suffering Swire Pacific investors.

Romer exit flags World Bank’s human capital limits

25 Jan 2018

The academic known for his work on economic growth is leaving the bank after just 15 months. The attempt to shake up a staid institution fits his theories’ emphasis on new ideas. But his brash manner shows how organisations can be less than the sum of their inputs.

Cox: Klaus Schwab remakes Davos as The Apprentice

22 Jan 2018

To ensure intrigue when world leaders and CEOs are locked in the Swiss mountain resort, the World Economic Forum mastermind is employing reality TV tricks that made Donald Trump a star. This year's gathering may rival the business show for ratings-boosting drama. But it's risky.

UBS executive reshuffle fires up succession race

14 Dec 2017

Martin Blessing has replaced Juerg Zeltner as head of the Swiss group’s private bank. The ex-Commerzbank boss has good timing: tax issues are mostly in the past. If he can fend off rivals in Asia and reignite European growth he boosts his chances of replacing CEO Sergio Ermotti.

Leonardo is a masterpiece of Saudi contradictions

7 Dec 2017

Crown Prince Mohammed bought the $450 mln “Salvator Mundi,” a report says. The heir to an absolute monarchy professes to be a reformer and corruption fighter, yet is spending with unseen extravagance. That may not go down well at home, or with potential investors in Aramco.

Wanda’s asset shuffle buys brief Beijing reprieve

5 Dec 2017

The indebted Chinese conglomerate is shuffling assets around, including a $470 million cash injection from its founder, as officials pressure firms to deleverage. The cash will help pay down $1.7 bln in offshore loans, but it will take more to escape the government penalty box.

Indian family writes its own philanthropic code

24 Nov 2017

The Bhartis are donating $1.1 bln to their own foundation. Though the sum pales next to other billionaire pledges, there's a creative twist. Money will be used to start a university to teach AI and robotics, free to poor kids. There's no global playbook when it comes to giving.

China’s autocracy puts end to reform illusions

25 Oct 2017

As China's Communist Party tightens its grip, Western hopes that rising incomes would produce more economic and political opening look like wishful thinking. Delusions about inevitable reform are best set aside. For foreign capital this "new era" looks riskier than the last.

Xi’s new stature can overawe China’s market forces

25 Oct 2017

The president emerges from a key party congress with his name in the constitution, no successors in sight, and a mandate to push his agenda faster. Xi Jinping still talks reform, but this intimidated system may become more responsive to his whim than supply and demand.

Hong Kong’s new leader clears first hurdle

11 Oct 2017

In her maiden policy address, Carrie Lam unveiled lower taxes for small firms and more affordable housing for the middle class. Her proposals mark a decent start for tackling the city’s economic divide. If she follows through, Lam could earn support tackling more divisive issues.