Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

2018 Campaign – Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli

Re-Elect Professor Michael Mainelli for Alderman of Broad Street Ward

“Bright Lights, Better City”

My campaign motto highlights the City’s brainpower, attractions, and traditional freedoms.

I am honoured to have the support of our three Common Councilmen, Deputy John Bennett, Chief Commoner John Scott JP, and Chris Hayward.

A former Chairman (2004-2005) of the Broad Street Ward Club, Immediate Past Master of the Worshipful Company of World Traders, Freeman of the Watermen & Lightermen, and an Honorary Liveryman of the Furniture Makers and Water Conservators, Michael has worked in the Ward since 1984, walking the length of the Ward every day to and from home in Wapping.

“Michael has achieved much in his first term as Alderman, working hard and well with our Civic Team.  We urge you to return him to work with us in the future.”                    

            Chief Commoner John Scott JP

Please give me, Michael Mainelli, your vote by postal ballot or by voting in person on

Thursday, 13 December 2018

Polling Station

Carpenters’ Hall, 1 Throgmorton Avenue,

London EC2N 2JJ

Polls are open from 8:00am to 8:00pm

The pre-election Wardmote will be held at Carpenter’s Hall at midday on Wednesday, 12 December 2018

www.broadstreetward.org.uk

@broadstreetward

I walk through the Ward every day, to and from work, and would be delighted to discuss Ward business.

Contact me by telephone 020 7562-9562, or via email michael_mainelli@zyen.com, or by post to Z/Yen Group, 41 Lothbury, London EC2R 7HG.  For more campaign details see www.mainelli.org and @mrmainelli.

Aldermen and Common Councilmen are the unpaid volunteers who keep our community working.  In tough times for the City, with fierce international competition among financial centres, increasing uncertainty in financial services, more regulation, rising costs, and tight budgets, these volunteers are vital.

As the creator of the Global Financial Centres Index, I know what makes cities work.  Together we can make a success of our neighbourhood with a manifesto of:

  • safe streets – traditional policing, crime prevention, refuse collection, lighting, sensible licensing, and traffic enforcement;
  • modern infrastructure – water, electricity, ICT, and transportation links with robust defences against environmental damage and terrorism;
  • vibrant economy – fostering new and old businesses by setting policy and regulation that encourage new markets in the City and future success for the 483,000 of us already working here;
  • community spirit – ensuring excellent services for those in need, while enhancing intellectual and cultural life;
  • competitive attractiveness – lobbying central government on better policies for education, taxation, and business, as well as promotion, to keep the City foremost in global finance, technology, and media.

We have made great progress in Broad Street Ward in three major areas:

  • Refurbishment and all-but-pedestrianisation of Austin Friars – completed on budget and on time.  We have plans for more social and community activities in this area.  Please do look out next year for a street market.
  • On-site shredder vans – an outright ban seems a ways off, but we have reduced these vehicles to almost the minimum.
  • Communications – we now have high-speed broadband throughout the City and our website is in its fifth year.  @broadstreetward tries to ‘follow’ all businesses and people in the Ward, so please do ‘follow’ us by return!

Broad Street’s traditional mascot is the famous panto cat of its Alderman, Dick Whittingon (1354-1423).

My work on your behalf over the past five years has consisted of:

  • Ambassadorial – representing the City and Ward, including accompanying and receiving trade and investment delegations to and from Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australasia. A number of businesses in finance and technology have located operations here thanks to such efforts.
  • Governance – promoting our interests in the Corporation as a member of the Court of Aldermen and Common Council, as well as Finance, Markets, Planning & Transportation, Standards, and Gresham Committees.
  • Ward Support – helping develop our City Giving Day contributions and Ward Mights, presenting in companies and schools, organising tours of the Ward, promoting new Freemen (ask if you’d like to become one), as well as being President of Broad Street Ward Club. 

Professor Michael Mainelli FCCA FCSI (Hon) FBCS, Executive Chairman, Z/Yen Group

A qualified accountant, securities professional, computer specialist, and management consultant, educated at Harvard University and Trinity College Dublin, Michael gained his PhD at London School of Economics where he was also a Visiting Professor.  He began his career as a research scientist, later becoming an accountancy-firm partner with BDO Binder Hamlyn and a director of Ministry of Defence research.  During a spell in merchant banking with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, he co-founded Z/Yen, the City of London’s leading commercial think-tank.  He has led Z/Yen from creating smart ledgers (aka blockchains) through the Financial £aboratory, Taskforce 2000, Global Financial Centres Index, Global Green Finance Index, and Global Intellectual Property Index.

In 2005, Michael initiated Long Finance’s London Accord, an agreement among 65 investment research teams to work together on environmental, social, and governance issues, which includes Ward firms such as Canaccord Genuity, ING, and Deutsche Bank.  Michael’s civic work includes serving as Emeritus Professor of Commerce, Fellow & Trustee at Gresham College – the City’s ‘Tudor Open University’; Almoner (governor) for Christ’s Hospital – the City’s charitable boarding school; Trustee of Morden College; former London Waterways Commissioner; and Patron to several charities, such as CARA and Sea-Change Sailing Trust.

Michael is a non-executive director of two listed firms and the United Kingdom Accreditation Services overseeing UK laboratories and quality standards.  He was British Computer Society Director of the Year in 2005 and given Hons by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment in 2018.  His third book, The Price of Fish: A New Approach to Wicked Economics and Better Decisions, won the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards Finance, Investment & Economics Gold Prize.

Promoted by Ms Ruby Sayed CC, One Pump Court Chambers, Elm Court, Temple, London EC4Y 7AH,

on behalf of Professor Michael Mainelli, Z/Yen Group Limited, 41 Lothbury, London EC2R 7HG.

Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

2018 Aldermanic Campaign Begins

It is customary for Aldermen to give an undertaking to surrender their office at least every six years.  Elected in July 2013, I have taken the opportunity, in advance of running for Sheriff next year, to submit my resignation of office to the Court of Aldermen on 9 November.  At the same time, I also indicated my intention to seek re-election.  I submitted my nomination papers to the City of London Corporation on 16 November.  If the election is contested, it shall be held on 13 December.

I would like to thank profusely for their support of my nomination:

  • Proposer – Mr Nicholas Westgarth, Worshipful Company of International Bankers, Austin Friars
  • Seconder – Mr Karl Craig, Canaccord Genuity, Lothbury
  • Subscriber – Ms Mei Sim Lai OBE, Lai Peters, New Broad Street
  • Subscriber – Mr Roger Sanders OBE, Lighthouse Group, Throgmorton Street
  • Subscriber – Ms Elizabeth Corrin, China Construction Bank, Old Broad Street
  • Election Agent – Ms Ruby Sayed (Barrister), Temple
Posted on Life As We Live It

World Record For World Traders

London, 29 October 2018: The Worshipful Company of World Traders is delighted to announce that it has broken the Guinness World Record for the “most nationalities in a simultaneous popular music sing-along”.http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/415296-most-nationalities-in-a-simultaneous-popular-music-sing-along

On 8 October 2018, with support from Goodenough College and Voices of London, the Worshipful Company of World Traders set a new record with 245 people from 84 nationalities singing “Imagine”, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”, and “Mama Mia!”. London Business School set a record for 72 nationalities in 2016.

The attempt was the brainchild of Master of the World Traders 2017-2018, Professor Michael Mainelli, who decided that the World Traders could do something to celebrate inclusion during times of apparent division, “Our Company motto is ‘Commerce and honest friendship with all’.  With trade wars popping up everywhere, our idea was to show global unity here in London with everyone around the world.  The World Traders are delighted to be the first Livery Company of the City of London to achieve a Guinness World Record.

Setting a Guinness World Record is a demanding task. Independent Witnesses with experience of checking passports are requisite, and so the World Traders recruited Martin Lloyd, author of “The Passport: The History Of Man’s Most Travelled Document” for the attempt, as well as a legal witness from Mishcon de Reya. We also needed six Stewards, each responsible for a zone with a maximum of 50 singers, who had to verify that all the singers participated.  Stewards and witnesses had to sign a confirmation that they were satisfied with the all aspects of the event that were under their jurisdiction.  Mary Hardy, the Choirmaster, and Norman Rose, the pianist, ran everyone through their paces twice over.

Lars B Andersen at the tensest moment.

Lars B Andersen, the Liveryman of the World Traders who coordinated the record attempt, said: “In the end, we uploaded more than 53 GB of data in 44 files to prove that our attempt was valid. After a lot of work planning this event, we were so pleased to hear that Guinness World Records approved our record on 24 October.”

Rebecca Matthews, Director of Goodenough College, commented, “Goodenough College is home to postgraduate students of over 80 different nationalities. We are incredibly proud of our strong links with the Worshipful Company of World Traders and share the same belief in (intellectual) ‘Commerce and Honest Friendship with all’.  As such we were pleased to be able to celebrate our unique diversity by taking part in this World Record attempt. I know that our many talented Members were honoured to be able to represent themselves, their home nation and Goodenough College on the evening, and it was a fitting event to demonstrate the unique culture fostered here at Goodenough.”

Posted on Life As We Live It, Economist Letters

Philosophical musings

Your essay on reinventing liberalism for the 21st century was a wide-ranging, refreshing reminder of where we’ve been, where we are and how we need to improve (September 15th). As you said, “the core liberal causes of individual freedom, free trade and free markets have been the most powerful engine for creating prosperity in all history.” Significantly, at only two points did your essay mention “capitalism”, and even then as something adjacent to free markets rather than integral to them.

Moving forward, liberals need to be clear that their support for free markets does not equate to support for capitalism. The ownership of the means of production clearly merits discussion, but what liberals should all agree upon is that making choices in free markets is a fundamental part of human freedom.

Professor Michael Mainelli
Master
Worshipful Company of World Traders
London

18 October 2018 – https://www.economist.com/letters/2018/10/20/letters-to-the-editor

Posted on Life As We Live It, Gresham College & Other Education Interests

Road To Everywhere – Goodenough College

Remarks to: Goodenough College on Founders’ Day, by Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, 4 October 2018.

“Road To Everywhere”

President, Chairman, Governors, Trustees, Fellow Fellows, Students, Ladies, and Gentlemen.  Wilkommen, Benvenuti, Bienvenue,欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín), Welcome.

It is a genuine honour to have been asked to deliver this year’s Founders’ Day address.  Founders’ Day is an opportunity to cultivate our legacies and sow our futures.  We do so in challenging times.

Continue reading →
Posted on Life As We Live It, The City of London & Broad Street Ward

Divine Service Prior To The Election Of The Lord Mayor

1 October 2018 at 10:45 – This service is held at St Lawrence Jewry, the official church of the Corporation of London.  It precedes the election of the Lord Mayor and is attended by the Masters of the livery companies.

I’ve always been politely amused by the touching adaption of a well-known hymn for the City:

O Praise ye the Lord, fraternities all,
With each patron saint, with Lawrence and Paul,
Praise God in this City, in his name we strive,
And pray for our liveries, long may they survive.

O Masters of guilds, in livery adorned,
Your mysteries keep and strive to be formed
In charity, service, and care for the poor,
Bring God his due honour, and praise Him the more.

Prepare ye to serve, all Aldermen too,
In each of your tasks be faithful and true;
With eye to the Father, and ear on your ward
With all this City, O praise ye the Lord!

This year’s Lesson and Sermon were taken from Luke 16:1-9:

The Unjust Steward

1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 

For some of us, it seemed too a propos a lesson on ‘client monies’.

Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

City Giving Day Role Of Honour

Congratulations to all those organisations in the Ward who participated!

City Giving Day Role Of Honour

  • Ambac
  • Blackrock Investment Management (UK) Limited
  • Broad Street Ward Club
  • Canaccord Genuity Wealth
  • China Construction Bank London
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Fireclad Ltd
  • Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners
  • Guild of Freemen
  • ING Bank
  • IoD City of London
  • The Brokerage Citylink
  • The Worshipful Company of Carpenters
  • The Worshipful Company of Drapers
  • Union Bank UK plc
  • Z/Yen Group Limited

Register for 24 September 2019!

Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

BROAD STREET WARD – CITY OF LONDON – VOTER UPDATE

To the Ward of Broad Street,

As Alderman for your Ward, I thought I would write and bring you up-to-date with news.

First, you should be receiving our Broad Street Ward Newsletter every six months.  If not, or you would like to receive it electronically, please do contact me.

Second, I enclose a few items which might be of interest:

Third, we have made great progress in Broad Street Ward in three major areas:

  • Refurbishment and all-but-pedestrianisation of Austin Friars.  This project was completed, on budget, and on time.  We have plans for more social and community activities in this area.  Please do look out for a Ward Might later in the year, basically an open house in the centre of the Ward one lunchtime.  Also look out next year for a street market.
  • On-site shredder vans. An outright ban seems a ways off, but we have reduced these vehicles to almost the minimum.  If you spot a particular offender, i.e., idling or unattended in a restricted parking area, please do feel free to photograph them and send to me.
  • We are proud of the website, now in its fifth year.  We also have a twitter account @broadstreetward.  We are trying to ‘follow’ all businesses and people in the Ward, so please do ‘follow’ us by return!

Two further opportunities that might interest you:

  • City & Ward Overview. Your members are always ready to come to offices in the Ward to explain the City of London, the history, livery companies, wards, philanthropy, and local services.  We have a presentation, “What Could The ‘City of London’ Ever Do For Me? Or How Can I Drive Sheep Across London Bridge?” we’d be delighted to give to you and your colleagues if you wish.  The presentation also covers how to apply for the Freedom of the City of London, again, something where your members, Deputy John Bennett, John Scott CC, Chris Hayward CC, and I, would be delighted to sponsor voters.  Equally, for a large party, we would be happy to host you at the Guildhall for such a presentation, along with a short tour.  To request a City & Ward Overview, just email me at michael_mainelli@zyen.com.
  • City Giving Day is taking place on 25 September 2018.  It’s one day in the year when businesses can unite to celebrate and showcase their charitable and volunteering efforts with employees, clients, suppliers and the public.  It is about celebrating what you already do – not asking you for money.  To register, just go to thelordmayorsappeal.org/a-fair-city/city-giving-day.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for your support.  Your members are always open to ideas for change and improvement.  It’s our honour to serve you.  We want to continue trying to deliver more by Working for the City, Working for the Ward, Working for You.

Sincerely yours,

Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, Executive Chairman, Z/Yen Group

Posted on Life As We Live It, Long Finance

“You Never Stop Trading” – Institute Of Export Awards Ceremony

Institute Of Export
Keynote
Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli
23 May 2018, Mansion House

“You Never Stop Trading”
Minister, Aldermen, Fellow Masters, Ladies, and Gentlemen.

The City of London, what better place to graduate in trade and export. The Inspector of Ancient Monuments assures me that London’s archaeological evidence proves over 100,000 years of trading. Bloomberg across the road sits above two millennia of Londinium. We convene for this graduation ceremony over a millennium old stocks market. You are at one end of Cheapside, ‘cheap’ being Anglo-Saxon for ‘market’. One New Change at the other end by St Paul’s is its modern shopping mall. Gresham’s Royal Exchange opposite is over 450 years old.

The word ‘monger’ is old Saxon-German for trader or trafficker. Think, ‘drugmonger’. This trading City is therefore full of Ironmongers, Fishmongers, Lightmongers, Costermongers, Cheesemongers, and even Fearmongers. What am I as Master of the World Traders? Perhaps I should be a WorldMonger or GlobeMonger. Pssst, hey buddy, want to buy a planet?

From Adam Smith onwards, thinkers have increasingly recognised that commerce is about much more than just making money. Commerce is about exchange between people. Commerce is about social interactions where people trade ideas, opinions, or merchandise. Good commerce is a positive sum game. Trade reaps economic benefits from specialisation and comparative advantage, creates prosperity, distributes success and wealth, and collectively enriches all of our societies and communities. Trade is a force for good.

This year’s Lord Mayor, Alderman Charles Bowman, promotes the Business of Trust. His research sets out five principles for trust – five good principles for new graduates. Remember the mnemonic C-I-V-I-C:
• Competence and skills – doing what you do well;
• Integrity – being honest, straightforward, and reliable;
• Value to society – recognising and meeting wider societal needs;
• Interests of others – respecting the interests of customers, employees, and investors;
• Clear communication – being transparent, responsive, and accountable.

Trust underpins all trade and investment, firmly based on the City of London’s motto, “Meum Fidem, Meum Pactum” (“my word is my bond”). Trade should be win-win with other people. As the UK increasingly focuses on trade, remember that no-one should ‘export to’, everyone should ‘trade with’.

So CIVIC, I repeat:
• Competence
• Integrity
• Value to society
• Interests of others
• Clear communication

What I admire about you is that by starting, and finishing, your studies with the Institute of Export you exemplify all five CIVIC principles. You have studied to increase your Competence. Your Integrity in enshrined in your learning. Your Value is inherent in your increased professionalism. You couldn’t trade ethically without taking the interests of others to heart. You have worked hard on communicating your thinking and ideas. You deserve today’s awards.

The Jesuit scholar, Timothy Radcliffe, talks about universities and further education as places where we “learn to talk to strangers.” As you trade with strangers, they become colleagues, and later colleagues become friends.

But education and trade don’t stop here. All of life is learning and trade. In fact, I’ve improved a bit of Shakespeare to get that point across. Indulge me:
All the world’s exchange,
And all the men and women merely traders;
They have their wares and their merchandises,
And one man in his time plies much commerce,
His acts being short changes. [Jacques: As You Like It, Act 2, scene 7, lines 139-143]

I run a technology and finance research firm that is about 90% exports, so this year, the World Traders, young and old, Journeymen your age to ancient Liverymen like me, have focused on “Technology & Trade” as our theme. We are studying how technology transforms trade through debates, workshops, and even research into blockchains, published at the House of Commons last month as “The Economic Impact Of Smart Ledgers On World Trade”. You too will continue to learn through life, or stop living. An old quip goes, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  Or as Seneca the Younger stated, “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”

So, as graduates, should you be optimistic or pessimistic? A number of nationalities walk into a bar and are asked, “are you optimistic or pessimistic?”:
• the Englishman says, “pessimistic, Brexit & Remain”;
• the Scotsman says, “pessimistic, Brexit & Referendum”;
• the Irishman says, “pessimistic, Brexit & Border”;
• the American says, “pessimistic, Trump”;
• the Italian says, “pessimistic, elections”;
• the German says, “pessimistic, Euro”;
• the Australian says, “pessimistic, North Korea”;
BUT the World Trader says, “optimistic, pessimism is for better times.”

And you have such great opportunities. The world is changing as never before, socially, technologically, economically, and politically. It may be a bit crowded now, seven billion people is over double the world I was born into, but even that will change as we are looking to demographic numbers reversing direction about 2050. You will have outstanding chances to use your learning. You will never stop learning and trading.

May I ask you, the graduates, to go forth inspired by the motto our Worshipful Company of World Traders traded with Thomas Jefferson from 1801, “COMMERCE AND HONEST FRIENDSHIP WITH ALL.”

May I wish all of you the success you will earn.

Thank you.