Below we have summarised three top articles for February 2021:
KPMG has appointed female leaders for the first time in it’s 150 year history. Bin Mehta has been appointed stand-in Chairman whilst Mary O’Connor has been promoted to acting Senior Partner. The appointments come in the wake of insensitive comments by Bill Michael that has put the firm’s culture under scrutiny.
Jay Z rarely misses. Whilst Champagne sales have fallen dramatically in 2020, Armand de Brignac sold over 500,000 bottles in 2019. With economies slowly opening up this is a high profile and obvious move for the LMGH group’s Moet Hennessy. Jay Z has sold 50% of his business at a price that is currently undisclosed.
LVMH reported revenues of €44.7bn in 2020 and is home to 75 luxury houses across 6 different industries and this deal fits seamlessly into their growing portfolio which includes the likes of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy in fashion and Moet Hennessy in wine and champagne. This is unlikely to be the only major deal that Jay Z is party to this year with Oatly, another business he holds a stake in reportedly targeting a $10bn IPO later this year.
Will working from home become the new normal? That is still unclear. However,
YouGov have produced some astounding findings on what people really think about life working from home. Initially it seemed that the mirage of indefinitely working from home had become a reality yet, as the pandemic has continued to effect how we work, more and more we are finding this oasis to be a gruelling one.
30% of respondents reported an increase in their working hours since working from home and a whopping 53% feel as though the have to be on call at all times for their bosses. Working from home has certainly come with some strings attached and it will be interesting to see how businesses develop their own ‘return to the office’ strategies and what employees will actually want. The report also covers perceived effects on mental and physical health, general happiness and productivity.
