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Who's in and who's out
Gideon Spanier, Evening Standard29 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
TV & RADIO
JAMES CORDEN, 29
ACTOR AND WRITER
Co-creator and co-star of BBC3's cult hit Gavin and Stacey, he is the hottest new talent in TV comedy after collecting two Baftas. Corden has a theatrical pedigree, as he worked closely with playwright Alan Bennett on The History Boys. He is now working on a new sketch show for BBC. and has been spotted around town, squiring Lily Allen at the Groucho Club.
FINANCE
GREG COFFEY, 37
HEDGE FUND MANAGER
Already one of London's top traders, the Australian heartthrob is quitting Mayfair hedge fund GLG Partners and sacrificing a £160 million bonus to set up his own firm. The publicity shy father-of-two, who has generated annual returns of 50 per cent by investing in emerging markets, is already said to be worth £250 million and lives in Chelsea. His decision to quit provoked such a sensation that he has had to hire his own PR team.
UP AND COMING
BUSINESS
ROBERT TAYLOR, 48
KLEINWORT BENSON BOSS
Chief executive whose firm has been voted best private bank by Investors Chronicle and the Financial Times. He is far too discreet to name his clients but Tara Palmer-Tomkinson is among the mixture of blue-bloods, entrepreneurs and sport stars who are entertained in the top-floor dining room of the bank's Gresham Street HQ. Taylor is one of the few gay chief executives in the City and tied the knot with his partner, a trainee psychotherapist, in 2006.
MAKING MOVES
RETAIL
JANE SHEPHERDSON, 45
WHISTLES CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Dubbed the "most influential woman on the high street", Topshop's former brand director took over at Whistles in January and has poached a string of key members of her old team, most recently design director Nick Passmore. Shepherdson transformed Topshop into a fashionistas' favourite and wants to do the same for Whistles. She lives in Islington and is married to a criminal lawyer.
HEALTH
QUENTIN PANKHURST, 40s
CANCER SPECIALIST
Professor Pankhurst is pioneering a new form of treatment, injecting robotic particles into the human body. He has already tested his techniques on mice. He is now moving to the Royal Institution's laboratory off Piccadilly and is hopeful of a breakthrough with breast cancer. New Zealand-educated Pankhurst, a professor of physics at University College London, specialises in microscopic nano-technology.
UNDER PRESSURE
LITERARY LIFE
NIGEL NEWTON, 52
BLOOMSBURY CHAIRMAN
Doughty founder of Soho Square publishing house is worrying about a possible exodus after "Aga saga" writer Joanna Trollope quit. Bloomsbury's Harry Potter franchise has been a fantastic earner but with the stock market to keep happy, tennis fan Newton needs to serve up something new to lift the share price and prove there is life after JK Rowling.
