The laughs might not have come thick and fast as Monty Python’s reunion kicked off at The O2 last night, but at least the accountancy profession was honoured with a mention.
In what was one of the many classic sketches trotted out, a character played by Michael Palin consulted careers adviser John Cleese on trading in chartered accountancy for the more enthralling job of lion tamer.
That was fine until Palin realised that he had confused lions with anteaters and didn’t want all that excitement after all. Bored bean-counters take note: the grass isn’t always greener.
Swannell takes the stage
Not content with promoting one woman, Laura Wade-Gery, into contention to become the next chief executive of Marks & Spencer, chairman Robert Swannell popped up at a 30% Club event at Goldman Sachs last night to discuss ways to improve gender balance from “schoolroom to boardroom”.
Host Richard Gnodde, 30% leader Helena Morrissey and headhunters Katushka Giltsoff and Oliver Pawle were also in attendance. Swannell has a tougher assignment next week, maintaining order at the M&S AGM.
As he has admitted before, going to Wembley, the venue for the gathering, is an unusual sensation for any West Ham fan.
They say there is nothing like a dame and that’s true of Baroness (Barbara) Young of Diabetes UK, to whom City Spy wrongly assigned a damehood yesterday.
Skype’s sailing Swede won’t be backing Ben
The team behind Britain’s America’s Cup push shouldn’t try tapping Skype billionaire Niklas Zennström for a few quid towards reaching their £80 million budget.
The Swede, who runs technology investor Atomico from London, is a keen sailor whose Ran Racing team was in action in the 52 Super Series in Sardinia last month.
But City Spy understands he will be steering clear of joining efforts to overhaul Oracle tech titan Larry Ellison’s dominance of the blue-riband event.
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Leave that to Sir Keith Mills and Sir Charles Dunstone, the Air Miles and Carphone Warehouse tycoons, and the money behind Ben Ainslie Racing with the 2017 event in their sights. Zennström is busy enough with Atomico’s investee firms, such as online payments specialist Klarna, newly arrived in London, and Rovio, whose Angry Birds movie is out in 2016.
Speakers take to the fishbowl
Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf will pushed again for greater diversity in the City on Monday with AudaCITY, a conference asking bosses to challenge the status quo.
Advance information concerning the Guildhall event employs the English language in diverse ways. First of all, there will be a “super-charged fishbowl debate”, at which merchant banker Ken Olisa and hedge-fund manager Alpesh Patel will speak.
That is followed by breakout sessions “to create a unique manifesto laying out the principles underpinning an omni-talented City”. City Spy trusts that at least the host of the event, BBC’s Evan Davis, will know what is going on.
