b"recalls staying in constant touch with John, Brian and he was the companys future. Without him at the helm, Allan and having meetings about how to get John back in. it was like a ship without a rudder.John got the flick because the AIBA people hadAllan says the fact that the three founders were still engineered a bit of a coup. There were some Judaspartners in Whittles added to their resolve. They also49Iscariots on the ship then.had another card up their sleeve: big portfolios stacked with loyal clients.Sidelined from working in the MGA business,John held tenaciously onto his MGA shareholdingThey didnt know how to handle us in some ways, and retreated to Whittles, which had been set up asand they didnt know how to handle me, because one a separate corporate entity and so was removed fromof the things that I know frightened them is that I had AIBAs grasp. He focused his energy on building considerable control of a lot of corporate clients, he says. that business. In 1995, John resigned from the MGA board but was That was a defining moment in my life. It was absolutelystill a significant shareholder, albeit on the outer. Buta very difficult time because I got the bullet, and I washe was not done fighting. He was formulating a planoutside of the company that I founded,' recalls John. to take back his company, and he was confident he could do it.Pat Warren relinquished her role as company secretary of MGA and followed John to Whittles. I stayed withI said to the boys, Brian and Allan, These guys wont MGA for a while, but chose to go with John. I felt thatlast. Weve got to just hang in there.Above (L-R) Christine Hay, Terry Dalyand Pat Daly, c. 1990s."