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Who's in and who's out
Gideon Spanier, Evening Standard14 Apr 2008
The energy of London is nowhere more reflected than in the shifting balance of power among its thoughtmakers, trendsetters and leaders. Every week, Gideon Spanier looks at who's in and who's out.
NEW ON THE LIST
BUSINESS
IAN LIVINGSTON, 43
BT BOSS
BT's retail chief succeeds chief executive Ben Verwaayen as the Dutchman steps down from the telecoms giant. Having joined BT from Dixons in 2002, Livingston has been dubbed "Mr Broadband" as he has been responsible for getting homes and businesses online. The Celtic-supporting high-flier gets his Brownie-pack leader wife to test BT's new products to check they are user-friendly.
ARTS
GENISTA MACINTOSH, 61
ARTS CONSULTANT
The Arts Council has brought in Baroness MacIntosh to investigate its recent funding fiasco in which 200 companies were stripped of funding and then, in some cases, reprieved. When Lady Mac reports, she can recommend if other grants should be restored. That puts the former boss of the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Opera House in a powerful position.
ONE TO WATCH
POLITICS
RISHI SAHA, 29
TORY WEB STRATEGIST
Saha is credited with implementing the Tories' online ideas such as the "WebCameron" videos of the leader with his family on YouTube. The latest brainwave is "A Kick In The Balls", a computer game that mocks Labour minister Ed Balls. Saha is no Notting Hill Tory. He used to work in youth charities and run hip-hop nights. He is close to David Cameron's strategy guru Steve Hilton.
MAKING MOVES
BUSINESS
CAROLYN McCALL, 46
GUARDIAN MEDIA GROUP
Savvy chief executive of the Guardian newspaper group has been hailed as the Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year. But her sideline as a non-executive director of Tesco has proved problematic as the supermarket chain is suing the newspaper in a libel row. Mother-of-three McCall has now quit the Tesco board. Her next priority is tackling arch-rival The Independent, which has recruited one of her old team, former Observer editor Roger Alton.
UNDER PRESSURE
RETAIL
LUCY NEVILLE-ROLFE, 55
TESCO DIRECTOR
Long-serving adviser to Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, Neville-Rolfe is said to be one of the driving forces behind the supermarket's decision to sue the Guardian over its coverage of Tesco's tax affairs. Going to the High Court is a high-risk strategy - it could backfire as a public-relations exercise for Oxford-educated Neville-Rolfe.
POLITICS
TESSA JOWELL, 60
OLYMPICS MINISTER
Jowell is struggling in her ministerial role and with Labour's mayoral election campaign. While she can't take all the blame for the torch relay protests, the Government lacked a sure touch in handling this diplomatic headache. Meanwhile, Jowell's edict that colleagues should not refer to the Tory mayoral candidate as Boris was widely regarded as a sign Labour fears Johnson could win.
