Michael Nelson and the Green Parrot

My first meeting with Michael Nelson was in my Reuters management patch in Malaysia. Senior colleagues were very nervous about how I, new to management, would handle what they warned would be a challenging task. Sure enough, according to them, I booked the wrong restaurant, ordered the wrong food and above all the wrong wine.

When the man himself arrived in Kuala Lumpur, he clearly took himself seriously - and even more so, Reuters. But he went out of his way to make me and my young colleagues comfortable. Rob Mahoney, the senior correspondent in Malaysia, and I fixed up a visit to the elusive head of the Central Bank.

After the usual pleasantries and promotion of Reuters by Michael, Rob got stuck into a rare chance for an interview. Two questions on, Michael stood up, stuck out his hand and said goodbye on our behalf. Outside, Rob let it be known he was not pleased, whereupon Michael explained that it would mean Rob would get a second interview, rather than waiting to be thrown out. I don't recall whether that worked.

Come the weekend, Michael said he would like to visit Penang, where we had recently introduced some business services. But surely all our clients were closed at the weekend? Michael’s ulterior motive was to rediscover a Penang nightclub he remembered fondly as the Green Parrot. We never found it, but it did give me a chance to see another more relaxed side to Michael which led over the years to a warm friendship. We shared a love of electronic gadgetry, which could explain his enthusiasm for Monitor, perhaps his greatest gift to the company he loved. ■