A Family Affair

‘SHORTLISTS of one are all the rage at the moment - it seems certain that the Tory party will have only one name on the ballot sheet for its new leader, and likewise shareholders of BSkyB.

Rupert takes Grace to her first board meeting

City institutions and smaller shareholders in the satellite broadcaster have been told they can have James Murdoch, James Murdoch or James Murdoch as the new chief executive.

And, says the Guardian, they are less than happy at having Rupert’s 30-year-old son foisted on them.

“At a time of increasing shareholder activism,” the paper says, “investors are expected to begin meeting today to devise a battle plan which could lead to demands for the departure of as many as six executives from the BskyB board.”

James Murdoch is, the Guardian reminds us, a college drop-out whose first ambition was to run a hip-hop label – but has now become the youngest chief executive of a FTSE-100 company.

The job is also likely to be more lucrative than running a record label, with his predecessor Tony Ball earning £30m in his five years at the helm.

However, the appointment as finance director of Grace Murdoch, who celebrates her second birthday later this month, has really raised the City’s hackles.’

Posted: 4th, November 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink