Thank you for downloading this program.

In this edition of the bottom line,

Evan Davis and guests discuss what life is like for executives

after they've held the company's top spot.

We'll hear about the long trip up, the corporate ladder,

and what happens when you find yourself climbing back down again.

Hello and welcome to the program.

Now, you enjoy our life at the top, the exhilaration, the attention, the authority.

Then, often suddenly, it all comes to an end.

You could be a prime minister or a football manager, but today we talk to three former

leading business executives about life after they've been in

charge. How do they build a new career and how do they look back at their old one? I have three

exes with me in the studio, three ex-ex executives, although you're all each still involved in

business. And maybe a good place to start is to hear what you

were doing and what you're doing now. And I should say you all come from very different places.

We've got you from BP, Lord Brown, Children's Publishing, and the fashion group Gucci.

And we'll start with Gucci. Robert Pollitt, you were the chief executive there. What state was it in when

you took it over? It was in the great state. As we saw in the late 90s, you had the roaring 90s

of the luxury groups. And it was the coming together of and the building of groups by actually

families who did this. So which companies, which brands were in the group? Of course, Gucci brand,

which is the biggest brand, but East Seloran, which is, of course, quite well known. A little more than quite well known. Well, there we go. Very well known. Sergio Rossi Boucheron, which is a high jewelry brand. And of course, the famous UK brands, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. How did it come to an end? I think in terms

of timing, it was a natural ending. I believe in cycles of five to seven years of people in

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