We’re doomed! We’re doomed!

(By Anthony Miller – Wednesday 1st July 2009 8:30am). What a stimulating evening it was at last night’s annual Harvey Nash CEO dinner. A huge gathering of the ‘great and the good’ in the sector came to hear – for the third consecutive year – everyone’s favourite Cassandra, Alchemy founder and managing partner, Jon “Happy Jack” Moulton. As ever, Jon aimed his vitriol at our fearless and peerless Prime Minster and Chancellor, shooting so many barbs they looked like hedgehogs. Not entirely undeserved, some might say, after Darling’s spectacular back-tracking on the state of the economy.

Jon reiterated many of the warnings he’s made in previous speeches (how on earth he fits all these in with his day job we shall never know!) as we reported in postings such as Being smug. He didn’t go quite as far as suggesting we start rounding up the animals two-by-two, but I got the impression a trip to the library to find books on ark-building might not be an entirely wasted journey. Let’s be fair, not everyone in the audience agreed with Jon on every point, but few seemed willing to dispute the overall message and tone, especially about the need to find some real leadership in the country. When asked whether he would enter politics, Jon quickly put that notion aside (actually, like any good politician would!) but to be honest, I don’t see him giving up his ‘real’ day job any time soon.

Anyway, hats off to Harvey Nash CEO Albert Ellis and his team for putting on one of the real ‘must attend’ events in the executive calendar, and to Jon for his message that really does bear the retelling.