Man Group plc - Corporate Responsibility Report 2007

Having worked with Man Group as an adviser for four years before joining the Corporate Responsibility team full-time in November 2006, I had the chance to gain an outsider’s perspective on how the Group operated and was managed.

I worked quite closely with the Group Risk team on the creation of the Group’s global risk and compliance architecture, and gained an insight into the Group’s commitment to identifying, evaluating
and describing the risks they faced both operationally and financially in every facet of the business – a very positive experience which gave me confidence in the sustainability of the franchise.

I was subsequently invited to work on the creation of the Group’s Corporate Responsibility Programme, strategy, policy and process architecture, as well as the creation of its first separate, full Corporate Responsibility Report, for 2006.

Coming from a risk background and having worked so closely on the creation of the Group’s various risk frameworks and policies, it was clear that one of the most significant risks facing Man Group was that of reputation: the risk of contagion from a peer’s activities; the risk of negative perceptions over the positive realities of their business and the risk of failing to manage in an integrated way all the constituents which contribute to that most fundamental of the Group’s assets, its reputation.

I and my predecessor, Athol Harley, following extensive consultation with key stakeholders, developed a strategy for corporate responsibility:

To commit and evidence, where possible, our high standards of business behaviour both corporate and individual, which underpin the reputation of the Group and which create and maintain trust in and loyalty to the Group by all of its stakeholders.

“We are committed to our Corporate Responsibility Programme on a long-term basis so we have defined a structure of key roles, responsibilities and processes that will provide a strong and enduring foundation.”

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