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He has an admirable track record but the Bates job will test it to the limits. The network has neither the critical mass to compete with the top five global communications players nor enough global business to provide its "glue". Its situation is classic Catch 22 - global clients won't come to the network because it has so little significant global business.

What's more, its unique selling proposition, developed more than 50 years ago, is far from unique any more. The fear is that Bates' problems are of such a scale that they are beyond any individual's capacity to solve.