SPY CITY

WHAT with British Airways run by an Australian (soon to hand over to an Irishman) and easyJet currently run by a New Zealander (with the strings pulled by its Greek owner), it is heartening to hear that an Englishman has finally broken into the cockpit of a UK carrier. Andy Harrison, former boss of the RAC (from whom he took Pounds 5 million when it was taken over earlier this year) is replacing Kiwi Ray Webster at easyJet at the end of this year.

But hold on, Harrison arrives with not one iota of aviation- industry experience. Not quite, says easyJet chairman Sir Colin Chandler.

Harrison holds a private pilot's licence. Does that count?

WITH the London stock market fast becoming home to the big beasts of the online gambling jungle, you might think demand to fill up board seats at such firms would be red hot. But the queue of City big-hitters keen to lend their name to these ventures is worryingly small. That's why dot-com casino operator 888 had to abandon plans to hire a high-profile chairman to bring it to market. The company is looking on the bright side, telling City Spy, "it's not about a trophy chairman, it's about getting the right person". So step forward hitherto little-known lawyer Marie Stevens, the Londonborn former gambling regulator hired by 888 as a non-exec in February. It transpires the charming Stevens enjoys the occasional flutter. Her own 888 favourite?

"Blackjack, because I think it's an intellectual game," she purrs.

THE days of Sir Christopher Gent's Bentley lending an air of gravitas to the Vodafone car park at Newbury are long gone. The exec spaces are now said to be a lot racier, with chief executive Arun Sarin's Maserati gleaming among a smattering of Ferraris and Porsches.

(c)2005. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.