Continuing our series about the most important influencers in City culture, here is a view of the leadership of Goldman Sachs in London.   Goldman doesn’t break out its local leadership team, as far as I know, so this list is pieced together from a range of sources.  Updates and improvements are welcome. I’ve included [...]

City · community · culture · excellence · Goldman · leadership · values

Barclays has announced that Bob Diamond, the American-born head of its investment banking operations, will succeed John Varley as CEO.  The announcement drew unusually blunt comment from business secretary Vince Cable: Cable was quoted in the FT as saying that Diamond’s appointment illustrated “the wisdom of the government’s decision to set up this banking commission [...]

Barclays · business · community · culture · excellence · global · leadership · people

Continuing our project of identifying the key shapers of culture in the City of London, here is a list of nominations for the people who shape culture at Barclays plc Marcus Agius, Chairman John Varley, Chief Executive Bob Diamond, President of Barclays plc and CEO of Corporate Investment Banking and Wealth Management; CEO-designate Chris Lucas, [...]

Barclays · business · community · culture · excellence · leadership · values

At just the same time as we put him on our list of top culture-shapers at HSBC, Stephen Green has been named trade minister in the UK government.  So our list has changed on its first day out of the box. Mr. Green has been a voice for stronger ethics in banking, and has deep [...]

business · community · culture · customers · ethics · global · HSBC · leadership · values

Who are the key people who create a leadership culture at a major corporation? As an experiment, I’m making a list of leaders who might be thought to shape the cultures of 20 leading City of London institutions, and thus as of the City as a whole.  Having the list gives a starting point for [...]

City of London · community · culture · HSBC · leadership · values

Stuart Gulliver, HSBC’s head of investment banking, is quoted in the Financial Times, implying that if the UK government tried to force a split between commercial and investment banking, the bank would consider moving its headquarters out of the UK. “It is clearly possible that commission comes up with a recommendation to break up the [...]

City of London · community · global · HSBC · independence · regulation

Samsung announced its Android-based tablet to compete with Apple’s iPad this week (Sept 2 in Berlin).   I’m looking forward to this competitive battle. I’m betting that Korean, and Taiwanese, and Chinese firms will be giving Apple a run for their money faster than most people think. Apple’s 40% margins are just too juicy. The [...]

Apple · creativity · emerging markets · excellence · global · leadership · profit · Samsung · value

Quality experts used to say, “quality is free.”   In an interview with Forbes, John Viera, Ford’s director of sustainability and environmental policies, takes a similar view of sustainability. Here’s a representative quotation: “Doing the right thing doesn’t have to cost money. I think that was a mental constraint for me initially. I thought we [...]

business · creativity · customers · ethics · excellence · Ford · global · leadership · sustainability · values

According to this Wall Street Journal article, several companies on our Communities of Leadership list (BASF, Siemens, and GE) are being more careful about how they share technology in China.  They are seeking to benefit from China’s low manufacturing costs, without exposing their most valuable intellectual property to copying by Chinese firms. Here’s the WSJ [...]

BASF · China · creativity · fairness · GE · innovation · leadership · Siemens · value

HSBC is offering students a chance to compete for eight £15,000 bursaries, scholarships to us Americans.  To enter, students are invited to post a 90-second video on Facebook saying how the funding would allow them “to make your mark on the world.” Good marketing, good business, and a positive use of social networking, in my [...]

business · community · creativity · customers · HSBC · innovation · inspiration · leadership · values