Making global local: Maxus’s Lindsay Pattison talks India, inequality and the long term April 18, 2016 "Media is the fastest growing area of marketing. We are the link now between advertising and sale, and everyone wants a piece of the action,” says Lindsay Pattison, global chief executive of Maxus. The fourth arm of WPP’s Group M – the world’s largest advertising media company, which buys one in every three adverts sold – [...]
BT’s going on a massive security hiring spree April 13, 2016 BT is going on a hiring spree. The telecoms firm announced this morning that it will hire 900 people over the next 12 months focused entirely on security. They will largely be based in the UK, in London, Sevenoaks and Cardiff, but with some roles in Europe, the Middle East, America and Asia, while some of [...]
UK cyber security company Darktrace embarks on funding round to secure $400m valuation April 10, 2016 UK cyber security company Darktrace has turned to Silicon Valley in a bid to secure funding which would see the company valued at $400m (£283.2m). The company, which is headquartered in both Cambridge, UK, and San Francisco, USA, was founded in 2013 by mathematics and computer specialists from the University of Cambridge and intelligence experts from MI5 and GCHQ. [...]
Why we should worry about the Three O2 merger March 30, 2016 It won’t have escaped your notice that Three and O2 want the path cleared for a £10.5bn merger. Even with the owner of Three – Hutchison – proposing to keep O2 operationally separate, it would still leave Three/O2 with a 40 per cent market share. Ofcom has sounded alarm bells, and been uncharacteristically vociferous in its opposition. While [...]
“How would you get an elephant in a fridge?”: These are the 10 toughest questions asked at job interviews – including questions from Topshop, Network Rail and EY March 29, 2016 Job interviews are galling at the best of times – but imagine being asked how to squeeze an elephant into a fridge, or how many people named Gary were born in 2013. That's what candidates at, respectively, Gemalto and BT were faced with, according to jobs marketplace Glassdoor, which has put together the 10 toughest [...]
Sky Sports: Premier League games could be presented by celebrities such as Holly Willoughby or James Corden on Friday nights March 26, 2016 Celebrities such as James Corden and Holly Willoughby are being considered as potential presenters for Sky Sports' Friday night Premier League games next season. The broadcaster is currently discussing how to differentiate the live Friday night games it will show next season from the rest of its output. One idea is a more relaxed, entertainment show [...]
EU referendum: Business groups hit back at claims by Boris Johnson that business support for remaining in EU is not as strong as commonly thought March 23, 2016 Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said that business support for the European Union is not as zealous as people commonly think, in a clash with senior Tory MP Andrew Tyrie. Speaking to MPs, Johnson said that he is aware that organisations such as the CBI and the British Bankers Association are in favour of [...]
Ofcom puts forward “strict new rules” for BT’s Openreach division, including cutting charges and boosting installation times March 22, 2016 Ofcom has put forward "strict new rules" that BT must adhere to if it wants to avoid having to carve off its Openreach business. The regulator told BT it must improve its high speed business lines performance and "significantly" cut its wholesale charges for these lines, as part of its review of the market, published [...]
BT plays catch up to Sky over on-demand TV March 20, 2016 Telecoms giant BT is looking into gaining further control over on-demand TV service YouView from TalkTalk in an attempt to build up its market share of the premium TV industry and catch leader Sky. BT has held informal talks with TalkTalk over the future of the joint business venture, which would allow BT to pour [...]
Telecoms giant BT hires former BG, AstraZeneca and Scottish Power finance boss Simon Lowth March 18, 2016 BT has hired BG Group's finance boss Simon Lowth as group finance director, taking over from Tom Chanmugam who is moving over to work on integrating EE into the wider business. Lowth, who is also being made an executive board director, will join on 4 July. He has held a range of roles in major firms, most [...]