Jane Fraser will succeed Michael Corbat to become the first woman to lead a Wall Street bank
Credit: Julian Restrepo/Citigroup
Scottish banker Jane Fraser will take charge of US banking giant Citigroup in February, putting her in charge of a $107bn (£84bn) organisation with 204,000 staff and 200m customers.
The job makes her one of the most powerful British women in global business and Wall Street’s first ever female boss. Her promotion to the top of the world’s largest credit card issuer, having spent just a year in the bank’s number two role, is a major milestone for Wall Street, which has been criticised for years for having an overly macho culture.
Ms Fraser, whose husband left his banking job in 2008 to care for their young children, said only two years ago that she was not specifically aiming to become Wall Street’s first female boss.
She told CNN: "I’ve never had the ambition to be the CEO of Citi or any other organisation. Things can change over time."
Lucy Burton
Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang has overseen Nvidia's rising fortunes to put chip rival Intel in the shade
Credit: Chiang Ying-ying /AP
Jensen Huang had a better 2020 than most: in July, the chief executive of Nvidia saw his company topple industry stalwart Intel as America’s biggest microchip company, and in September, he reached a $40bn (£28.8bn) deal to acquire Arm, the British chip designer, in the biggest tech deal of the year.
In 2021, Huang will be tasked with making the ambitious — and controversial — deal actually happen, a delicate balancing act that will involve charming shareholders, regulators, and Arm’s more than 6,000 staff. Nvidia and Arm’s current owner, SoftBank, have said they do not expect the deal to be completed until 2022, anticipating scrutiny from competition officials.
The British government has promised to follow the deal closely, but the biggest challenge could come from China, where Arm is in conflict over the state of a joint venture and Beijing has expressed scepticism. If Huang succeeds, the deal will reshape the industry that feeds the world’s electronics and giant computer servers.
Read more on Nvidia’s bid for Arm
James Titcomb
Thierry Bolloré
Former Renault CEO Thierry Bollore has a tough task ahead to transform the carmaker
Credit: Denis Balibouse /Reuters
It took the automotive industry by surprise last summer when Jaguar Land Rover parent Tata announced that former Renault boss Thierry Bolloré would be taking over Britain’s biggest car maker.
After only a few months at JLR’s Midlands base, Mr Bolloré has yet to shift the company up — or down — a gear. It’s probably unfair to expect him to make any major moves yet, with the automotive sector in neutral thanks to the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit.
But Mr Bolloré might have to make some tough decisions about cutting the UK workforce if the current sales slump continues, something which will be made even more necessary if there’s no Brexit trade deal and tariffs on car exports are imposed under World Trade Organization rules.
Making more cars at the company’s giant new plant in Slovakia at the expense of UK factories might make financial sense, but image-wise it will create a storm.
Alan Tovey
Luciana Lixandru
Luciana Lixandru has a free hand to make as many as 20 investments in promising start-ups
Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images Europe
When rumours first emerged that US venture capital giant Sequoia was planning to open a European office, speculation was rife about who would be heading it up.
The partner, insiders said, would have a significant arsenal behind them, with Sequoia among the best known investors in Silicon Valley — a backer of names including Apple, Google and Airbnb and, globally, managing $8bn of funds.
Ultimately, Sequoia decided a seasoned investor would be best suited to the role, choosing Luciana Lixandru, a well-known figure in the UK’s venture community.
Formerly a partner at Accel, Lixandru led rounds in companies including Deliveroo and cyber security leader Tessian.
Lixandru has said she was not given a budget by Sequoia, and could ultimately make anywhere from two investments in the year to 20.
She may have only started as a European partner for Sequoia in September, but hopes are high for the change she could bring.
Hannah Boland
Andrea Coscelli
Andrea Coscelli, CEO of Competition and Markets Authority, will oversee scrutiny of Google's practices
Andrea Coscelli has Silicon Valley’s mighty tech giants in his sights. With new powers in the wake of Brexit, the chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority is preparing to break their stranglehold of the digital markets.
Among other things, Dr Coscelli is asking for MPs to approve a legally binding code of conduct backed up by penalties that could extend to fines of up to 10pc of turnover. That sum could be as high as $7bn and $16bn for Facebook and Google respectively.
The 51-year-old will have plenty on his plate. Once the UK fully leaves the European Union, merger and competition enforcement cases, which were previously the domain of the European Commission, will fall under the CMA’s remit. But Dr Coscelli seems ready for battle.
“Historically, it has been easy for very large companies to have carte blanche,” he said. “What we’re essentially saying here is that doesn’t seem right."
Ellie Zolfagharifard
Antonio Horta-Osorio
Antonio Horta-Osorio has left Lloyds to lead Credit Suisse
Credit: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Lloyds’ boss Antonio Horta-Osório, a crisis veteran who has been shark diving more than 100 times including with three great whites in South Africa, is to take on a whole new set of challenges in 2021 as he leaves Britain’s biggest high-street bank after almost a decade in charge and moves to Switzerland to become chairman of Credit Suisse.
The Portuguese banker joins the Swiss bank just as it battles to recover from an embarrassing spying scandal which rocked the Swiss banking industry and led to the exit of its former chief executive Tidjane Thiam.
Credit Suisse spy scandal timeline
The 56-year-old, who steered Lloyds bank back into private hands after one of the largest rescues during the 2008 financial crisis, is one of the best-known chief executives in Britain and was widely expected to take up a chief executive or chairman job at another big bank. He is understood to be Credit Suisse’s first ever non-Swiss chairman.
Lucy Burton
Janet Yellen
Janet Yellen is tasked with repairing America's pandemic-battered economy
Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
America’s next Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, is returning to the front line of economic policy after less than three years away from the limelight.
She will play a vital role in promoting the economy’s recovery from Covid, and will be expected to work closely with the Federal Reserve, the central bank which she chaired for four years.
The 74-year old is a veteran of Washington life, previously having served as chair of Bill Clinton’s council of economic advisers.
Her years at the Federal Reserve also gave her a crucial role in policymaking in recent decades, culminating with that stint at the top. She left when Donald Trump chose to appoint Jerome Powell to the job instead of granting Yellen a second term.
However, she lacks experience in winning over politicians in bitterly divided Washington. Her plans for the economy could be curtailed if the Republicans keep control of the Senate in crucial January’s run-off vote in Georgia.
Tim Wallace
Mike Lynch
Mike Lynch is the former chief executive if Autonomy, and is fighting a legal battle with HP over the sale of the British software company
Credit: Matthew Lloyd /Bloomberg Finance LP
Mike Lynch, the founder of Cambridge’s Autonomy and cyber security company Darktrace is almost certainly going to hit headlines when Darktrace, backed by his Invoke Capital, goes public in London in what is expected to be a £2bn deal.
He is also the subject of the biggest civil fraud trials in UK history, a $5bn case. Mr Lynch is being sued by software giant HP over its 2011 takeover of Autonomy.
The 55-year-old was accused of revenue pumping at Autonomy to artificially boost its value ahead of its $11bn sale. He denies all wrongdoing. The trial wrapped up in January but is still awaiting a verdict.
Mr Lynch also faces an extradition hearing to the US in February over the alleged fraud, which he is fighting. The fraud claims forced Mr Lynch to step back from the board of Invoke Capital, but a successful float of its biggest investment could be the start of a comeback.
Matthew Field
Свежие комментарии