John Pluthero takes the top job at troubled telco
JOHN Pluthero yesterday took the short walk across the Cable & Wireless Worldwide office from the chairman’s office and into the chief executive’s room.
To his fans, Pluthero is a turnaround guy, someone who can change the direction a business is heading. Which is just as well, given that C&WW seems to be heading straight down.
To his detractors, he is a reminder of the “most loathed management team in the FTSE”, too closely linked with outgoing chief executive Jim Marsh to mark the end of a disappointing era for the telecoms giant.
He joined the Cable & Wireless empire alongside Marsh when the firm bought Energis back in 2005. He went on to run C&W’s UK operations, undertaking a far-reaching – and very successful – cost-cutting drive. When C&WW demerged in 2010, Marsh took over as chief executive and Pluthero took the role of chairman.
Before joining C&W, Pluthero was seen as the mastermind behind the Freeserve business, building it from the ground-up into the most popular internet provider in the country. But taking the reins at C&WW during its darkest hour – its shares trading for as little as 43p, down from a high of 150p last year – will be tough, even for a turnaround man.