View from City Road: Varied talents of Richard Giordano

Richard Giordano, KBE, must have impressive stamina. Scarcely two years after stepping down as chairman of BOC, the industrial gases to anaesthetics group, he is back in harness following the early retirement of Patrick Rich, his successor, for reasons of ill health.

Having put BOC on the map in 1979 by becoming the UK's highest-paid chief executive, Mr Giordano sprang another surprise in December when he popped up as the new executive chairman of British Gas, just as the privatised utility was to be dragged into the world of free competition. He is also a non-executive director of Grand Metropolitan and Lucas Industries, where he had been a hot tip to take over as non-executive chairman from Sir Tony Gill.

Surely even Mr Giordano will not have time to spread his talents so widely, especially with British Gas on his hands four days a week. It ought certainly to keep him out of the hair of Pat Dyer, the BOC chief executive. But perhaps that should not be a qualification for chairmanship.