People

Uday Kotak is wanting for the market’s support

9 Aug 2023

Asia’s richest banker wants to stay on his $44 bln lender’s board when he steps down as CEO. India’s regulator will weigh that up as it decides if an insider also can be the new boss. A cosy arrangement may be tolerable but Kotak Mahindra’s stock is starting to work against him.

Jho Low could create a new world of 1MDB pain

8 Aug 2023

The fugitive at the centre of Malaysia’s sovereign fund scandal, is in China. In this Exchange podcast Billion Dollar Whale co-author Bradley Hope explains why Beijing may soon give him up and how his return could be difficult for all involved, from global banks to celebrities.

Next job-market challenge: the Great Unresignation

4 Aug 2023

Recent labor shortages pushed up hiring costs for US companies. But firms including Wells Fargo and State Street now say fewer staff quit than they expected, so they’re having to give them a push. It’s the kind of wrinkle that makes seemingly healthy jobs data harder to read.

France wins more than Kretinsky in Atos breakup

1 Aug 2023

Billionaire Daniel Kretinsky will buy the IT group’s older assets for 2 bln euros including debt. Paris will be pleased that the other, sexier cybersecurity division stays French. Meanwhile the Czech tycoon gets the ailing unit with little relevance to his other recent purchases.

Government’s NatWest meddling crosses risky line

26 Jul 2023

The UK bank ditched CEO Alison Rose hours after backing her, amid pressure from its 39% state shareholder. It’s right for Rose to go. But voters may now wonder why politicians can’t also intervene in setting mortgage rates, and NatWest may find it hard to find a top replacement.

NatWest goof is a boon for sketchy bank clients

21 Jul 2023

The UK lender’s CEO apologised to right-wing talking head Nigel Farage amid an account-closure row. Britain will now force banks to respect freedom of expression. Yet that may make it harder to ditch other, more problematic clients – and weaken the fight against money laundering.

Megalomania runs in the Disney DNA

13 Jul 2023

The $165 bln media company is letting boss Bob Iger stay until 2026 despite a sagging stock price. Iger’s predecessor Michael Eisner stuck around forever, too, and that didn’t end well. With Disney in a serious transition, Iger isn’t doing himself – or shareholders – any favors.

Tesla vs. Meta cage fight already has a winner

23 Jun 2023

The tech giants’ bosses are planning a literal fistfight. But in a corporate throwdown between the $800 bln automaker and the slightly smaller Facebook parent, which would win? On balance, Elon Musk’s bid to reshape the physical world beats Mark Zuckerberg’s promised virtual one.

Nissan needs new intrigue like a hole in the tyre

16 Jun 2023

The $16 bln carmaker hired Ashwani Gupta as COO to help move past the Carlos Ghosn scandal. Once seen as a potential CEO, he’s leaving amid reports of more internal shenanigans. With profit margins still low and its Renault alliance in flux, Nissan can’t afford such distractions.

JPMorgan fails Jeffrey Epstein stress test

15 Jun 2023

The mega-lender sails through its yearly financial exams, but lawsuits and a $290 mln settlement over its sex-trafficking client suggest operational lapses. Boss Jamie Dimon says he’d barely heard of Epstein until 2019. If so, it’s a sign his bank is too big to manage.

‘Love Island’ maker can be saved by bold coupling

14 Jun 2023

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall is under pressure amid a scandal and a depressed share price. A breakup of the $4 bln broadcaster might help, but looks tricky. Bulking up the studio unit could create more value, if McCall can find a way to keep dividend-loving investors on side.

What Wheel of Fortune can do, Wall Street can, too

13 Jun 2023

The US gameshow's host Pat Sajak is retiring after 40 years on the job. He’s just the face of an operation that has many moving parts, and whose value derives from luck as well as skill. Long-standing corporate bosses might want to watch what happens next.

To relinquish Grail, Illumina should fight for it

12 Jun 2023

A departing CEO and an ousted chairman signal an end to the gene-sequencing company’s effort to retain the $7 bln cancer detection business it bought without regulatory approval. The best way to secure a good price may be to keep battling US and EU trustbusters in court.

Odey brokers’ belated rethink is a cautionary tale

12 Jun 2023

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and others are reviewing links to the fund manager. Odey’s 2021 firing of his executive team should have been a red flag to do so even before further sexual assault allegations emerged. Brokers’ tardy responses just raise questions about their processes.

Berlusconi invented the entrepreneur as politician

12 Jun 2023

The tycoon-turned-Italian premier has died aged 86. He pioneered the use of wealth and media to achieve political power. Though his party is unlikely to survive his departure and his business empire is much weakened, his unorthodox methods spawned imitators across the West.

Casino’s fate rests on billionaires whack-a-mole

9 Jun 2023

Tycoon Xavier Niel and Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky are vying for control of the hard-pressed French retailer, which needs to restructure some 3 bln euros of debt. Founder Jean-Charles Naouri may be pushed out. Creditors’ backing will determine who will come out on top.

GoTo’s new CEO has one key job: bring stability

9 Jun 2023

Patrick Walujo is replacing Andre Soelistyo atop the $10 bln Indonesian superapp. The private equity boss may want to more closely knit together GoTo’s disparate businesses. But after several high-level changes, cost cuts and stake sales, providing a steady hand comes first.

Diageo’s Ivan Menezes was all-round exception

7 Jun 2023

The CEO of the $94 bln drinks giant, who has died at 63, defied corporate stereotype. He helped engineer a successful merger of equals, delivered index-beating returns while promoting diversity, and seamlessly stepped aside after a decade. It’s a record others should aspire to.

President Dimon would be square peg in Oval hole

2 Jun 2023

JPMorgan’s longtime boss could get a head start on a 2024 White House run by capturing the powerful capitalist constituency. Beyond that, there are too many pitfalls. For one thing, he is an avowed free-enterpriser, a quality ill-suited for this particular executive office.

Elon Musk is Beijing’s ideal foreign investor

31 May 2023

Officials rolled out the red carpet for the billionaire’s first visit since 2020. His EV investments stimulated local brands, he’s made Twitter amenable to authoritarians, and he shows the People’s Republic is still investable. That buys Tesla lots of political cover in China.