RE: British International Investment PLC21 Feb 2026 12:47
@NickE - “Harry has his faults”.
Objectively, I have only ever observed three criticisms. One - that he is overpaid. Go and watch the video from the investor meet company last year where he talked about remuneration. I think he made a good case. Aim CEOs are overpaid in my humble opinion. But given the work he has put in, the skills experience and network he has, sacrifices he has made to be away from his family, to forgo enjoying his existing wealth and pursue an epic achievement - benchmarked against other executives - it’s simply not outrageous - and arguably necessary. Either way, it’s a distraction - because it doesn’t dramatically change the outcome, and his shares are still the bulk of his remuneration.
The second complaint is that he’s repeatedly set “unrealistic” expectations for timelines. On this one, given that he’s had to raise money from the stock market, game theory would suggest that had he thrown his hands up and shrugged his shoulders when asked how long it would take, the company would have entered a death spiral. So you could say this is in fact one of his greatest achievements, to keep things going despite all the odds. I doubt that’s any solace to anyone who took statements at face value and either lost money (to other shrewder traders, let’s be honest) or now sit on a paper loss and resent their own decisions.
I find that he has acted shrewdly, in the best interests of the company (and his board), showed good stewardship, and achieved a remarkable milestone while delivering significant wealth creation opportunities.
The third criticism is that he has delivered some home truths that have hurt some feelings.
I mean…. Grow up? 🤷♂️
So if anybody can be objective, perhaps the personal comments about weight or presentation style should be checked, and there’s perhaps a bit of admiration due.
I’m genuinely sorry if you can’t see it that way.
Well done, Harry.
And good luck for the next phase….