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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Theodore Olson, the renowned conservative lawyer who fought to legalise same-sex marriage and was instrumental in securing a presidential win for George W Bush in 2000, has died aged 84.

Olson, a towering figure in the US bar who appeared in some of the most consequential cases in recent legal history, died on Wednesday, according to a statement from Gibson Dunn, the law firm where he had worked.

“Ted was a titan of the legal profession and one of the most extraordinary and eloquent advocates of our time,” Barbara Becker, Gibson Dunn’s chair and managing partner, said. “He was creative, principled, and fearless — a trailblazing advocate who cared about all people.”

Olson appeared for Bush before the US Supreme Court in 2000, as the Republican candidate fought to call off a recount of votes in Florida during the election against Democrat Al Gore. The decision in that case, Bush vs Gore, ultimately cemented the win for Bush.

Olson later teamed up with David Boies, who had represented Gore in Bush vs Gore, to fight against a ban in California on same-sex marriage. A federal court decision striking down the state ban was seen as a precursor to the Supreme Court’s ruling two years later in Obergefell vs Hodges, which enshrined the constitutional right to same-sex marriages nationwide.

The California case was about same-sex couples’ “right to be treated with respect and dignity and equality under the law in California and throughout the United States”, Olson told reporters in 2013. The collaboration between the two ideologically opposed lawyers was seen as a strong legal endorsement for marriage equality advocates who had been fighting against state bans for years.

Olson also prevailed in Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission, a controversial decision from the Supreme Court in 2010 that lifted restrictions on campaign finance, allowing companies and others to spend unlimited sums on political races.

Born in California, Olson studied at the University of the Pacific and the University of California, Berkeley. He became an acclaimed appellate lawyer, arguing 65 cases before the Supreme Court during his career.

He temporarily left Gibson Dunn, which he had joined in 1965, twice. The first time was to lead the US Department of Justice’s office of legal counsel in the 1980s, and again in the early 2000s when he served as US solicitor-general during Bush’s first term. During his tenure as solicitor-general his first wife Barbara Olson was killed in the September 11 2001 attacks.

Olson was also private counsel to presidents Ronald Reagan and Bush.

Openwork Partnership chief executive Richard Houghton has left his role with “immediate effect”.

In an internal memo, Philip Howell confirmed he has resumed his role of CEO on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.

Meanwhile, Duncan Crocker will take on the role of chair.

The group said it will begin the process of recruiting a new CEO shortly.

Houghton joined Openwork as chief financial officer in July 2020, after a stint as interim CFO.

He began his career in audit, corporate recovery and corporate finance with Deloitte before leaving practice to join the financial services industry.

For nearly a decade, from 1998 to 2007, Houghton worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, serving latterly as chief operating officer for RBS Insurance.

Between 2007 and 2012 he served as group chief finance officer at Aspen Insurance Holdings before joining RSA Insurance Group in 2012 as group chief financial officer.

From 2016 to 2017 he served as interim CFO at Co-operative Insurance and held the same position at Hyperion Insurance Group throughout 2019.

He is also an experienced non-executive director, having served as chair of the audit committee at Standard Life Assurance Ltd between 2017 and 2018, and on the Phoenix Life boards from 2018 to 2019.

The news of his departure follows last month’s announcement by Openwork that it had secured investment from global private investment firm Bain Capital.

In 2023, Openwork announced its intention to seek a minority investor to support its growth plans.

“With Bain Capital as our new partners, we are entering an exciting new era for Openwork,” the memo said.

“We are now commencing detailed planning for our inaugural year together which we look forward to sharing with you at the conference in January and on all colleague briefings.”

A spokesperson for Openwork has confirmed the changes in CEO and chair – and said there will be no further comments at this time.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Honeywell International is doing its best to rehabilitate the idea of the industrial conglomerate. Elliott Management, an activist investor, has other ideas.

Elliott has amassed a $5bn — or 3 per cent — stake in the $151bn conglomerate. It is calling on the company, which makes everything from cockpit controls to warehouse robots, to split itself up into two standalone businesses: one focused on aerospace, the other on automation.

Honeywell does not seem to have got the memo that conglomerates have become achingly unfashionable. At a time when the global trend is for industrial empires to break up and generate returns by specialising in a single area of business, boss Vimal Kapur has been bulking up.

Indeed, in just 17 months on the job, he has spent nearly $10bn on acquisitions, such as a $5bn swoop on Carrier Global’s security access business.

Kapur is sticking to the idea that Honeywell can thrive as a conglomerate by shedding slower-growing, low-margin businesses and buying higher-growth ones. Alongside the acquisitions, it has announced plans to spin off its advanced materials unit into a publicly traded company and is looking to divest its personal protective equipment business.

Even so, Honeywell’s finances suggest it’s time for something more decisive. Its $5.7bn in earnings and $37bn of revenue last year are both less than what it pulled in 2019. Honeywell shares have lagged behind the wider market this year. Before the news of Elliott’s stake, the stock had risen just 12 per cent while the S&P 500 gained 26 per cent.

Compare that with General Electric, a conglomerate that did get the message that smaller is better. GE shareholders have in effect enjoyed a 160 per cent return since turnaround chief Larry Culp announced a three-way break-up in November 2021, Lex calculates. That beats the S&P 500 index’s 27 per cent gain and Honeywell’s 2 per cent rise over the same period.

Elliott makes a good case that a divided Honeywell would be more valuable. Making aeroplane engines has little in common with making electronic door locks. Aerospace operates on decade-long timelines, while the automation business requires a shorter-term outlook.

The activists also reckon a separation could push up the share price by 51 to 75 per cent in the next two years. Sum-of-the-parts analysis from Jefferies and Deutsche Bank suggest more modest upsides. But if M&A roars back under Donald Trump, a break-up could lead to future deals, with Honeywell’s pieces as targets. Honeywell Aviation could be a good fit with GE Aviation, for example. Pressure to shrink to greatness will be hard to resist.

pan.yuk@ft.com

IN just a few hours Lidl’s version of the Coca-Cola truck takes to the roads to spread festive joy and give away free gifts.

The discount retailer launched its rival to the iconic red Christmas truck this year for the very first time.

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Lidl‘s Freeway cola truck will begin its tour of Great Britain on Thursday.

The festive tour will see the truck visit nine different cities until December 1.

Tomorrow, the lit-up red lorry will pull into Dundee and the fun will begin at midday, ending at 6 pm.

The timings stay the same for all locations.

People who are lucky enough to spot the red truck will find that 2,000 mystery present boxes will be given out.

Each box contains several items from Lidl’s famous “middle aisle.”

However, it is on a first-come-first-serve basis so you must hurry to grab one.

As an extra treat, Lidl has ensured that one in 10 of the boxes contains a “Golden Ticket” as well as the middle aisle freebies.

This ticket will be a coupon worth £100 that can be redeemed on the Lidl Plus app.

Visitors will also find that Lidl will be handing out festive food and even granting wishes.

The supermarket chain said visitors to the truck can also make a “wish” for something they want this Christmas, with the retailer granting a number of them.

The full list of locations the truck will visit, and the dates it will arrive there are as follows:

• Dundee – November 14
• Harrogate – November 16
• Hull – November 17
• Nottingham – November 21
• Wolverhampton – November 23
• Wrexham – November 24
• Luton – November 28
• Bournemouth – November 30
• Southampton – December 1

As Lidl hopes to “highlight the magic of giving, sharing and wish-making this Christmas with a pop-up wonderland at each stop,” Coca-Cola has also detailed some of the plans for its truck this year.

The drinks company confirmed the return of the iconic truck last week promising that the tour this year will be “bigger and better than ever.”

Visitors will be able to take part in festive games and a lucky dip which will give them the chance to win exclusive Coca-Cola merchandise.

A food truck will serve up seasonal food and ice-cold Coca-Cola Zero Sugar drinks.

The exact dates and locations have not yet been released as Coca-Cola urges fans to keep their eyes out for updates on its Instagram and X pages.

Last year, the truck visited some of the UK’s most major cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Manchester.

It started on November 23 and ended on December 3, so the wait should not be too long.

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