Glencore makes galactic gaffe

First, Glencore allowed the name of Lord Browne, former chief executive of BP, to be bandied around the City as that of its new chairman, only for an embarrassing change of tack, leading to the swift recruitment of Simon Murray . Then, Murray mused on the role of women in business and the need for men-only boardrooms, weeks ahead of the commodity trader's record-breaking flotation – after which the shares swiftly started to slide. Now, in Glencore's latest blunder, its £5bn chief executive has signed a contract asking him to report to the board of a company that doesn't exist. Ivan Glasenberg, whose stake in Glencore makes him one of the richest men in the world, signed his new deal on 28 April, although he may not have read every page too carefully as the document is littered with references to an obscure company called Galaxy International. His terms of employment insist that he will comply with "all rules and regulations issued by Galaxy International plc and other group companies", while the publicity-shy former champion race walker must also promptly disclose to the Galaxy board "full details of any wrongdoing by any employee of any group company where that wrongdoing is material to that employee's employment". The contract was signed by Glencore's Stefan Peter and Richard Marshall, as well as Glasenberg, and was drawn up by Linklaters, the company's law firm. A Linklaters source said: "Oh, that's a mistake. Galaxy was the code name for Glencore. It's a bit embarrassing." He insisted the contract would not have to be reissued as it was obvious that Galaxy really referred to Glencore. While City commercial lawyers said these errors can sometimes lead to contracts having to be produced again, they added that Glencore and Linklaters had probably got away with it this time. One lawyer added: "It's a rap on the knuckles to the junior who failed to change the words. It is embarrassing, but not fatal." Last night Glencore denied being involved in media reports that Browne would be its new chairman.