Class conflicts in public appointments

Selecting people with ability, integrity, and standing irrespective of their class is the way to manage top positions and their associated conflicts

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MARK CARNEY, a high-profile technocrat who straddled corporate and central bank corner offices with aplomb, is now the Prime Minister of Canada. He has been a citizen of three countries (Canada, UK and Ireland; he surrendered the latter two on becoming PM), worked at Goldman Sachs for 13 years, and served as central bank governor in Canada and the UK. He returned to the corporate world to chair an asset management company and the multi-tasking Bloomberg, in addition to being climate envoy of Canada to the United Nations. Such examples of seamless movement across top corporate and important public positions are not isolated in many jurisdictions. In 2004, James Newsome, then chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, agreed to meet with an Indian delegation. However, we were met by an acting chairperson; Newsome had resigned from office just a few days before.

Two days later, our delegation was received at the New York Mercantile Exchange by its chairman, Mr. Newsome! Answering my curious question about such a sudden shift from a regulator to its regulated entity, he replied that "senior people should know how to manage conflicts of interest." These are classic examples of not just the "revolving door," but also of competence, maturity, and integrity deciding such appointments, unobstructed by the "class" and other conflicts pervading public appointments in many countries. Though India too has had a few shining examples of "outside" appointments, they have come mainly from academics and only a few have moved from corporate to government. Fewer still went back to the corporate world in full-time roles.