Just in case you thought that Abigail with attitude dinners are occasions for hot air and posturing, I would remind you of the deal, finalized this November, in which Aberdeen Asset Management purchased Scottish Widows from Lloyds Banking Group. Well, the chief executives of Lloyds and Aberdeen – António Horta-Osório and Martin Gilbert – first met at a Euromoney dinner two years ago.
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Sometimes, however, potential guests try to evade my clutches. For example, I had invited a senior European banker from a top US firm to the most recent Euromoney roundtable dinner. The evening before the event, I received an email from the senior banker’s communications man stating: “Alas, [senior banker’s] global role (too) often means he’s at 33,000 feet en route to clients. And that’s the case here — he’s now travelling.” The Abigail with attitude column was underwhelmed by this lack of commitment. As a former senior banker myself, I know how rare it is that travel plans change at the very last minute. Normally, trips and pitches are scheduled well in advance.