Unsuspecting staff at the Citigroup Centre in London passing by the fixed-income trading floor were shocked to see their head of high-yield sales and trading, Mickey Brennan, and their head of emerging markets sales, Marc Pagano, getting their heads shaved while fellow staff members cheered on.
Among the staff stood TV pundit and former football star Gary Lineker, actresses Caprice and Tamzin Outhwaite, and a host of other media and sporting celebrities.
The depilatory spectacle must rank as one of the most expensive haircuts ever as Citigroup employees forked out a staggering £120,000 for the event. The money raised was donated to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children for the purchase of vital-signs bedside monitors for the intensive care unit.
Citigroup’s head-shaving event was in addition to a simulated securities placing game that the bank took part in along with JPMorgan and Macquarie Bank, which in total raised more than £600,000.
Although Citigroup’s employees have already donated £330,000, the bankers must be confident of their bonuses since they plan to keep on giving. More money will be raised from employees willing to pay to see someone brave enough to wear a wig created out of the shaved hair.