Restricted Information

This was how corporate secrets were distributed to the management in 1990. High Tech stuff then and one felt very important being on the distribution list.

Truth is, I doubt anyone listened to it or at least much of it. My division Grand Metropolitan Retailing was on the wane in the GM corporate world and didn't get much coverage apart from Burger King. In the 1990 annual report summary, we were headed as "Other Retailing and Property", the wording of our performance:

"The other retailing businesses (i.e. excl. Burger King) suffered from difficult market conditions but still managed to achieve a 9% increase in trading profit."

Nine percent profit increase was clearly wholly unsatisfactory. In fact Grand Met was heading for major restructuring, ejecting most of the still remaining brands that had been around while the founder, Sir Maxwell Joseph was alive. Most of the UK jettisoned in favour of the International businesses brands of IDV drinks business, Burger King and Pillsbury food. And this was later to be furthered streamlined when Grand Met and Guinness merged to form Diageo plc.

I was on October 1st 1990 transferred to the Wienerwald restaurant business based in Munich and less than three weeks later told the business was to be sold a.s.a.p. and I could either return to the UK or take redundancy. I took the latter and by the end of the year had cleared my desk. In the annual report published in December 1990, the fact that Wienerwald was to be sold was not mentioned.

Grand Met had been "good" to me for 15 years but as one learns in the modern multinational world, loyalty and work efforts count for nothing when the Board make a strategic decision. One is simply a number.

I was lucky to have been exposed to such a wide range of experiences and had many great colleagues, several of whom are good friends to this day.