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Who's in and who's out
Gideon Spanier, Evening Standard17 Nov 2008
Our magazine The 1,000: London's Influential People, published last month, highlighted the powerbrokers and agenda-setters of 2008. However, influence shifts quickly. Gideon Spanner looks at who's in and who's out.
MAKING MOVES
RETAIL
SIR PHILIP GREEN, 56
ARCADIA BOSS
Britain's most flamboyant retailer has taken a 28 per cent stake in Moss Bros — snapping up the rental chain and its Hugo Boss franchise for a bargain price from troubled Icelandic firm Baugur. Green, who has predicted doom all year, has plenty of cash and may be ready to pounce again soon. His latest Topshop range, designed by Kate Moss, is selling well too.
MUSEUM MAESTRO
ART & DESIGN
MARK JONES, 57
DIRECTOR V&A
Driving force behind the V&A Museum's £120 million nine-year transformation of its galleries. The affable and understated museum boss is promising the renovations will be completed on time by spring next year, with more than 1,800 medieval and Renaissance objects going on display for the first time in years.
STILL ON TOP
FOOD
GORDON RAMSAY, 42
CHEF
Winning five-star plaudits for his latest cut-price renovated pub, York & Albany in Camden, and he is also pulling in the ratings with his Channel 4 cook-a-long live shows. Critics say Ramsay's empire has grown into a corporate machine but he still sets the standard and continues to innovate.
SUPERMARKET SWEEP
RETAIL
JUSTIN KING, 47
SAINSBURY'S CHIEF EXEC
King looks to be defying the credit crunch with profits soaring 13 per cent and is vowing to take on 12,000 temporary staff for Christmas. The former M&S food boss is managing to take customers from both upmarket rivals and the discount chains.
OLYMPIC WORRIES
SPORT & OLYMPICS
TESSA JOWELL, 61
OLYMPICS MINISTER
Has done herself few favours with her faux pas that the Government would not have bid for the 2012 Olympics if it had known that recession was coming. Jowell's comments are unlikely to go down well with bosses from the international Olympic movement and she has even faced Tory calls to resign.
UNDER PRESSURE
FINANCE
JOHN DUFFIELD, 69
NEW STAR ASSET MANAGEMENT
Brilliant fund manager with a knack
for reinvention has run into serious troubles in the City meltdown and his New Star firm is admitting a rash of investors have been withdrawing their money. Duffield's biggest problem is trying to refinance big debts and
New Star shares are down more
than 90 per cent.
