Portraits
Back to homepage
Cornelius Vanderbilt: The ‘Commodore’ Who Steamed Straight Ahead to Glory
In the annals of American corporate history, Cornelius Vanderbilt was a true legend: a self-made billionaire who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the wealthiest and most influential figures of the 19th Century. Known as “the Commodore” for
Read More
The Man Driving the Rio Tinto Bus: Meet Jakob Stausholm
Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm is steering this mining giant as it rolls towards sustainability. Since taking over as CEO in January 2021, Stausholm has led the company through hills and valleys of transition, aiming always for environmental responsibility,
Read More
Elaine Yan Ling Ng: Designer Egged-on by Nature’s Potential for Unique Beauty
The design world often looks to nature for inspiration, and Elaine Yan Ling Ng, a traditional weaver and innovative designer, finds magic in that marriage. “I am always inspired by nature and its cleverness such as its innate engineered structure,”
Read More
Interview with Grete Faremo, Executive Director of UNOPS: Inclusive Infrastructure Development
In pre-pandemic Oct 2019 (about 20 months ago) you wrote an article for CFI.co magazine that highlighted the importance of infrastructure for communities, sustainable development and across the SDGs. If so, how have the world and your conclusions changed? While
Read More
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill: ‘Cheap Childcare’ Led to Winning Athletics Career, Jokes Ennis-Hill
Britain’s most celebrated track and field athlete, Jessica Ennis-Hill, announced her retirement from professional sports at the end of 2016. She left sport as a three-time heptathlon World Champion, 2012 Olympic champion and 2016 silver medallist. But the horizon holds
Read More
PwC Nigeria: Nigeria’s Finance Act Gets a Facelift to Attract Business and Investment
Earlier this year, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Bill 2019 into law as the Finance Act of 2019 — the first amendment to the country’s tax laws since 1999. The Act, which comprises 57 sections, seeks to amend
Read More
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Ensuring Tata Group’s Future
India’s largest business by revenue, Tata Group comprises no less than 289 businesses that together have just breached the $100bn annual turnover mark. Though Tata Group shows no signs of slowing down, chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran of the holding company Tata
Read More
Marc Langenbrinck, Mercedes-Benz Schweiz CEO: Finding and Keeping the Exact Right Competitive Angle
Mercedes-Benz is enjoying a great run. Its cars have set new sales records in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland – and elsewhere. In fact, the iconic German carmaker just reported its 60th consecutive month of record sales. Last year,
Read More
Christian Mumenthaler, CEO of Swiss Re: Insuring Future Growth
The new frontier of insurance runs through cyberspace. Hacking has professionalised and is no longer the preserve of lone bespectacled teenagers with more brains than brawn trying to prove the point they failed to make during recess. Today’s hackers are
Read More
Nick Clegg: A Heart That Will Yet Be Sorely Missed
As David Cameron was celebrating his party’s astonishing victory at the polls on May 8, his former coalition partner Nick Clegg delivered a mournful resignation speech. Immediately after the election, Mr Clegg stepped down as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Read More