Paul Myners

"We've got him to come!" and so a wary, tentative Paul Myners agreed to speak to the UK Shareholders Association in London on the strict conditions of no questions about the sensitive Marks and Spencer or Orange PLC he was a Director of. His courage paid off as he found the old audience, I was the youngest by about 20 years, respected his request, asked interesting long term questions and so the relationship that was so career turning was born. As I Gavin FL Palmer was the elected Chairman of the London and South East region my job was to coordinated efforts to gain PLC Chairman and Director speakers and show up in front of 50 members to be lightly grilled in the evening. Paul recognised our reasonableness. We recognised a good talent. Next stop the aggressive takeover bid for Marks and Spencers by Billionaire Philip Green. M&S a massive icon of retailing suffering after appalling clothing choices, bad stock, overpriced items lax Directors. Suddenly the Chairman resigned and the CEO resigned and there was two big gaps to fill. Stuart Rose was Philip Greens choice for CEO but who was to be Chairman? The UK Shareholder Association members member are an intelligent, vocal and very perceptive lot and the M&S board were evasive and dismissive at their sharp questions. The Board endured notoriously bad AGMs stacked to the rooftop full of complaints and angry shareholders. The UKSA M&S defence team of about 10 were knowledgeable about M&S and I took the lead in coordinating press, media, television BBC ITV and the attending members for the up and coming AGM. Then came an odd telephone call. With No Chairman or CEO it fell to the Senior Non Executive Director Industrialist Mr Lomax to sound out shareholders for a replacement Chairman during the takeover. I was called up out of the blue presumably as a representative of private investors and asked for my opinion! Sadly this was the first and only time this happened to me! Mr Lomax suggested repeatedly that an industrialist would be good Chairman yet I disagreed. The M&S Board didn't need meddling industrial expertise with such a brilliantly talented new CEO of Stuart Rose but someone to handle the ones with the voting power in the city, the fund managers. So I endorsed non Executive Director Paul Myners as a ex city Chairman of a fund managers. Paul was appointed and so the fate turned for Paul. On live BBC radio I stated that "Philip Green was smart and would only buy a bargain and would of had Stuart Rose to turn it around who we now had. So who was going to make the profit the existing Shareholders or Philip Green!?" Paul and UKSA member worked together on reforming the notoriously bad AGM with suggestions of showing off products before, Directors meeting shareholders before the meeting started, the sending of questions in advance to help prepare answers, giving the full analysts presentation instead of a dumbed down summary at the AGM which were all adopted by Paul. The across country media defence and individual shareholder views on radio was impressive and the takeover team were shocked at the now super smooth Agm with Paul taking the call as he left the stage from Philip Green that the takeover was off. In gratitude UKSA had two very well attended evening meetings with Paul and Stuart and at a later M&S AGM I created and gave them each a large hand written Deed of thanks signed by shareholders on the day. I wonder if the family still have that somewhere? The rest is history. However as it was only me that knew this I thought I would record it and pass it on to the family. Thank you Paul for accepting a daunting invitation and leaving a lasting legacy of M&S with its large contingent of Private Investors that Paul acknowledged at the meeting were the ones that "Saved M&S" My condolences to his family and colleagues and those to who he touched during his life. Gavin FL Palmer and on behalf of the UK Shareholders Association Members UKSA.org.uk