TakingStock.

TakingStock.

Hague’s start as a copy jockey It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when William Hague was out of the public eye. While TS is tempted to suggest that time may soon come again, for now we prefer to focus on the period between his debut at that Tory conference and his ascendancy to the top of the party pile.

Grinding out at a career at consultants McKinsey’s back in the heady days of the 80s, young William found himself managed by none other than Sir Howard Davies, the genial chairman of the Financial Services Authority.

Sir Howard is not someone who is shy about passing on an anecdote or two. ‘I think his first job when he came into the firm was directly working on one of my teams,’ Sir Howard said.

So how was the leader of Her Majesty’s opposition as an employee? ‘When you gave him some photocopying he would go away and do it and come back with it straight away,’ he jokes.

Unfortunately diplomacy then overcomes him and he mutters a series of sentences that include compliments like ‘clever chap’, ‘hard working’ and, to our surprise, ‘self-effacing’.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

Professional Services Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

Accounting Firms Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

Making Tax Digital Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource