The Capitalist: City grandees live it up at the CityAM Awards
Forget the first Monday in May, The Capitalist this week joined City grandees at Guildhall for a behind the scenes look at the CityAM Awards
Albeit with a little more mention of pension reform than haute couture, CityAM rolled out the red carpet on Tuesday night at an event that gave the Met Gala a run for its money, complete with impeccable tailoring and weeks of table planning by a scrupulous editor.
City grandees donned their gladrags and flocked to the Guildhall for free flowing champagne, a fabulous feast cooked up by The Clink charity and, most importantly, a mercifully short awards ceremony hosted by the incomparable Oli Barrett.
The Capitalist rubbed shoulders with the likes of former BoE chief economist Andy Haldane, entrepreneurs John Caudwell and Richard Farleigh, EY’s global financial services lead Omar Ali, hospitality bigwigs Martin Williams and Ranald MacDonald, political journalist Harry Cole, a brace of former Lord Mayors, Taiwan’s ambassador to London, Peel Hunt CEO Steven Fine, top AI guru Matt Clifford, Square Mile grandee Lisa Gordon (winner of the City Champion award) and UK Hospitality chief Kate Nicholls, crowned Personality of the Year.
CityAM editor Christian May opened proceedings, noting that while Business of the Year nominee M&S couldn’t make it, he did receive a mysterious email from them asking for the prize money to be paid in Bitcoin. He also pointed out that non-doms had been seated by the exits, making it easier for them to leave, while investment bankers were in the middle of the room ensuring that they remained the centre of their own universe. Guest speaker Andy Haldane, meanwhile, ribbed Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey not once, not twice, but three times – concluding with a call for a “Bailey-style slimming of UK regulations”.
Bar one La La Land moment (when one understandably excited presenter forgot he had to announce the nominees as well as the winner), the event went off without a hitch, with The Capitalist’s only qualm being with The Ned, which refused to take in the CityAM newsroom for a much-needed post-event nightcap. The thirsty hacks had to settle for Dirty Martini.