Boardroom rush to fill the 'G' Spot

Press   –   The Sunday Times   –   3 February 2008

Dismiss ideas of a recession if you like, but fears of a downturn are wreaking havoc not just in the markets but in British boardrooms too.

A small group of top executives have unwittingly become the hottest property in town as companies scramble to hire them in case of turbulence.

The mergence of the so called "Super-Gs" – which include Reuters’ Tom Glocer and Niall FitzGerald and BA director Denise Kingsmill – has been identified by several City headhunters.

Meanwhile the rest – or Gs – are just as well known but suddenly not in demand any more.

Moloney Search, which places many leading board executives, decided to do more research and found a new and ruthless division was being made by nomination committees across the land.

Curly Moloney of Moloney Search told Prufrock: "A cadre of professionals are beginning to rule the world…meanwhile good candidates are becoming increasingly demoralised as they are pushed to the sidelines."

Moloney found that the Super-Gs all have long-standing FTSE experience, an MBA, usually from Wharton or Stanford, and had better experience of technology than everyone else.

Another headhunter said: "There’s been a shift in the past few months – nomination committees want security not risk. Forget being a young gun trying to break through, some of the best names out there are being shunned for a small blot on their performance track records."

It certainly makes filling spots harder. Perhaps this is the explanation for the lack of a new chief executive at William Hill.

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