As we all know, that’s no longer the case and FX is a mature market in all senses. News reaches me that the ever-popular John Lattimore is retiring from Icap, where he is marketing and administration director voice spot FX. After a stint that long, that he must surely qualify for a gold watch. In fact technically, Icap has employed John for longer than the company itself has existed, having joined the old Harlows back in the days when many of the current crop of dealers was mere twinkles in their parents’ eyes.
John’s retirement news was announced to his colleagues this week in an internal email. “After about 1,000 years of continual service at this company, John has decided to join the ‘real world’ on a full-time basis. He has contributed massively to our spot FX business over the years, and a career spanning as long as April 9, 1973 until July 31, 2007 will possibly never be repeated,” it said.
It continued: “As we all know, voice businesses are moving towards a much younger environment and with this in mind we have hired a raw trainee to learn the ropes from John, then bring his own character to the position. His name is Roy Burgess and he starts on June 11.”
It’s been my pleasure to have known John for many years. He is one of the market’s true gentlemen and unusually, I don’t know of anyone who has a bad word to say about him. He tells me that he’s looking forward to travelling and country pursuits when he retires. Before he does, I’m sure he’ll be out and about pressing the flesh. Roy is someone else I’ve known since we were both young men, and he is returning to Icap after a couple of years out of the market. I wish them both the best of luck.
