I don't begrudge Andrew Altman his £195,000 a year as chief executive of the Olympic Legacy company,[1] really I don't, though I do wonder where the money to pay any performance related bonuses he might be awarded will come from. Londoners of course will be pleased that every effort is being made to ensure that the park's construction will benefit them all in the years to come and that it doesn't become just another white elephant.
I do wonder though, how the role of the Olympic Legacy Company is defined. In a February article,[2] London First said "it needs strong leadership too, of the calibre of John Armitt or Seb Coe, so that good intentions turn into reality." Surely such leadership should have been put in place before the final designs for the Olympic park were approved and building work started? There is much work to be done on selling the space to interested parties after the event but I would have thought it was now too late to alter the infrastructure plans in any serious way.
The London mayor's office brought in Bob Kiley to try to sort out the mess which was then London Transport. Kiley famously described the maintenance contracts he inherited[3] as part of the public private finance initiatives as having been drawn up "on the other side of Venus" . Let's hope that a similar fate doesn't await Mr Altman. At least he can look forward to a generous payoff if the job gets too much though. Mr Kiley was reported to be paid[4] "£3,200 a day for doing not much" after his resignation in 2005. I wouldn't mind being paid £3,200 a day for doing something, let alone "not much"!
[1] O’Connor, Ashling (28 May 2009) Olympic Park's future to be assured by Andrew Altman, American regeneration expert The Times, Main section Page 20 [online] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/london_2012/article6374849.ece
[2]London First (Feb 2009) Olympic Legacy Masterplan Framework - London First welcomes real progress [online] http://www.london-first.co.uk/news/detail.asp?record=100
[3] Clement, Barrie (5 April 2004) Bob Kiley: 'We're still with the sherpas on the lower parts of the mountain, trying to find a way to the top' The Independent [online] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/bob-kiley-were-still-with-the-sherpas-on-the-lower-parts-of-the-mountain-trying-to-find-a-way-to-the-top-558912.html
[4]Muir, Hugh (29 March 2007) Former transport chief describes his new role: £3,200 a day for doing not much [online] http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/mar/29/localgovernment.transportintheuk
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