Should you find yourself in the company of London-inclined urban studies professors – a more enjoyable crowd than you might think – a fun parlour game is to try and name those who’ve made their mark on the modern capital.
Ken Livingstone is on the list; so are architects Richard Rogers and Norman Foster.
Claudia Jones gave us Carnival, and Hannah Dadds changed the face of TfL. Nobody, however, can compete with the claims of Sir George Iacobescu.
Success has many fathers and failure has few. Iacobescu, at Canary Wharf since 1988, has been there for the good times and the bad.
And throughout it he, like the hundreds then thousands then tens of thousands who roll in every day, has remained an ardent believer in what is surely the most successful property development in the world.
Today Canary Wharf is a mixed-use, thriving development that is becoming ever more a part of the capital’s fabric. You can kayak amongst the skyscrapers, nip to the shopping mall for homewares.
More than ever, despite the pandemic doomsayers, Canary Wharf has become a place of life and vibrancy. Iacobescu’s vision has been the driving force behind that all.
It is hard to imagine a better leadership dream team than Shobi Khan, Canary Wharf Group’s CEO, and Sir Nigel Wilson. The first is an innovative thinker, a clear communicator and hugely bright.
So is Sir Nigel, who became the voice and indeed the conscience of the City’s C-suite in his time at L&G.
The Wharf was a gamble when Iacobescu first laid eyes on it in 1988. Now it seems a safe bet.