When you're a senior officer of a large corporation that's about to make a major announcement, you have a few new rules to remember:
The message about increasing shareholder value is old hat; so is bragging about how you're about to leapfrog the competition. Now you have to remember to ditch the tie and -- even more important -- give the guy sitting beside you a big hug.
The new executives of Warner EMI Music -- the result of a $20-billion (U.S.) marriage between British music company EMI Group PLC and Time Warner Inc. -- appeared tieless yesterday at the London news conference announcing their wedding.
Casually clad Roger Ames, the new chief executive officer of Warner EMI Music, wasn't shy about giving Ken Berry, the company's new chief operating officer, a bear hug when the details of the deal were announced.
"They want to project an image of 'We're there, we're with it, we're today,' " said Diane Craig, president of Image International, an Ottawa-based image-and-protocol consulting firm. "And today is dress down. The message is that they're current and they don't want to appear stuffy."
A whole host of big shots have dressed casually and been photographed in loving embraces in recent weeks as they announced megamergers, executive shuffles and other deals. Casual Friday is taking over the work-a-day world.
"Going casual is being discovered by many, many types of industries," said Harry Rosen, founder of the Toronto-based men's-wear chain that bears his name.
Mr. Rosen, 68, who prefers three-piece suits with ties Monday to Friday, said the casual trend has undone tie sales at his stores. They're down about 10 per cent from their peak about two years ago.
Nobody's leading the casual charge faster than those working in the high-technology sector and the creative fields. "It's more in the way those types of companies would like to be viewed and seen as more informal, entrepreneurial," said John Shave, a New-Jersey-based managing partner with National Public Relations, Canada's largest PR firm.
Although Mr. Shave said he hasn't advised any of his clients to shed their suits (Preference: "Standard blue suit, white shirt."), he said casual clothing has the advantage of sending out a laid-back, innovative image that's important in attracting talent.
This month, Bill Gates sported a V-neck sweater with a white dress shirt when he announced he was giving up day-to-day management of Microsoft Corp. Next to Mr. Gates stood Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's president and new CEO, who was dressed in a dark jacket and a white shirt -- minus the tie.
And when Internet giant America Online Inc. announced its takeover of Time Warner two weeks ago, Time Warner chief executive Gerald Levin was clad in a button-down shirt, a tweedy jacket and chinos. (Last summer, Mr. Levin replaced his traditional wardrobe of suits and ties with casual pants and open-collared shirts. Newsweek magazine called it a Silicon Valley-style makeover that pointed the way to his Internet goals.)
At the AOL-Time Warner news conference, AOL's CEO-chairman Steve Case went formal, but he was quick to wrap his arms around Mr. Levin.
So what about the hugging?
"That's another way the tech industry is trying to be perceived," Mr. Shave said. "It makes it look like it's a better marriage when people are up there hugging."