She lets you know that things don't have to be that formal - she's down home. Approachable and gregarious, this chief executive likes to roam the corridors and talk with the troops on an egalitarian footing that is unusual in still class-conscious Britain. In her first week at Pearson, Scardino sent a letter to each of the 17,000 employees around the world. I do not want to be associated with an organization that's not decent and fair. I also believe corporations have responsibilities to their employees, to make sure they have stimulating jobs.
Corporations also have the responsibility to spend time on the community and on charity.
This has the ring of the grass-roots populism she grew up with. The question intriguing many British businesspeople and newspeople is whether Scardino, with her passion for print, will be able both to expand in journalism and simultaneously to provide a good and growing return for investors. Meanwhile, journalists everywhere can watch with interest to see what happens next with this Texas transplant who looks well beyond the bottom line.