When the Aussies shot Bob's bear

As Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) senior management prepare for major restructuring, let's hope group chief executive Andy Haste does not use the motivation techniques of his predecessor Bob Mendelsohn.

Backchat was reminded of one of big Bob's team-building exercise, when the UK senior management went on a tour of R&SA's worldwide offices. As part of the jolly, he told the board they needed a mascot. A teddy bear, duly dubbed Berkeley Bear after the insurer's Berkeley Square headquarters, was employed to keep spirits up. The bear had pride of place at meetings, even its own chair - much to the chagrin of executives.

As the tour built up steam, so did the hatred of Berkeley. By the time the bear reached Australia, Berkeley had no friends left. Once Mendelsohn returned to Europe, the Australian management team pounced.

Our source said: "Without Bob's protection, the bear was marched outside. One of the Australian team then took a shotgun and blasted a hole in Berkeley. He was then sent back to the UK and had to have emergency stuffing. Bob was not amused."