Barclays boss to give BBC 'Today' lecture

Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond is to become the first corporate figure to give a business lecture for BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Diamond will deliver the inaugural BBC Today Business Lecture in November in front of 200 guests, with an introduction from Today host John Humphreys, who will also interview him for the following day's programme.

The lecture, due to be held at BBC Broadcasting House on November 3, will also be covered by the BBC News channel and streamed in full on the Today website.

Born in Massachusetts, Diamond sprung to fame after guiding the Barclays Capital investment banking division to huge success and massive profits. Last year, he placed 37th in New Statesman's annual survey of the world's 50 most influential figures.

After succeeding John Varley as group chief executive of Barclays on January 1 this year, Diamond has already received a bonus of £6.5 million.

Ceri Thomas, the editor of Today, said: "Business is a key part of Today's agenda and this annual event will not only see prominent figures exploring challenges facing the business world, but will also give our audiences a unique opportunity to hear about them.

"I am delighted that Bob Diamond has agreed to give the inaugural BBC Today Business Lecture. The BBC already has a proud tradition of hosting the Reith and Dimbleby Lectures, and I hope that this too will become an important fixture not just in the BBC calendar but for the business world as well."

Bob Diamond said: "I am honoured and delighted to have been invited to deliver the inaugural BBC Today Business Lecture. I think this is an important initiative from the BBC which demonstrates a bold commitment to providing a forum for business leaders to address the issues of the day, and should in turn improve the dialogue between the business world and wider society."

This year's Radio 4 Reith Lectures are to be delivered by Burmese pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi and former MI5 director-general Baroness Manningham-Buller.

In June, the BBC published an archive covering 60 years' worth of Reith Lectures, including speeches by philosopher Bertrand Russell and "father of the atomic bomb" Robert J. Oppenheimer.