Since taking over the reins at Standard Chartered, Bill Winters has wasted little time in ripping up the old playbook of his predecessor, Peter Sands.
Given the mess he left behind at StanChart, it’s perhaps no surprise that Sands is seeking out ways alternative to banking to spend his time.
So we read with interest a Bloomberg piece saying that he was now the co-owner of a bookshop in London’s literary Islington. That made sense to us: Sands often tried to pass off a learned, academic mien in public.
But what titles might Sands be stocking on his shelves at the aptly-named Log Off Bookshop, in which his wife, author Betsy Tobin, is also a partner?
A few that quickly sprung to mind:
Censoring an Iranian Love Story
by Shariar Mandanipour
Shifting Sands
by Jennifer Rowe
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Shock of the Fall
by Nathan Filer
Across the Empty Quarter
by Wilfred Thesiger
And if we may, a couple of bits of business advice to Sands on his new venture: no matter how well you know them and how often they visit your store, don’t extend too much credit to individual customers; and do be careful if accepting payments from buyers from certain parts of the Middle East.