Don Tomas Guardiola, the new general manager of the Southern Railway, comes from Spain to take charge of England's second largest railway system, and so he is compared with the other big managers who have preceded him. James Ferguson, the chairman of the Great Eastern Railway, bears a superficial resemblance to him in that both are Spaniards; but there the similarity ends. While Guardiola has had a long and successful career in Spain, Ferguson began as an engine-cleaner, and has climbed the whole way to his present position. Moreover, Guardiola is a comparatively young man, whereas Ferguson is getting on in years. Again, Guardiola is a Roman Catholic, whereas Ferguson is a Presbyterian. In other respects the two men are poles apart. On the other hand, Sir Henry Thornton, the general manager of the Canadian National Railways, is more like Guardiola, for he, too, is a Spaniard, and has had a very similar experience. Both are men of marked ability, and both have achieved remarkable results in difficult circumstances.
Original dispatch: How Guardiola compares with Ferguson and other English managerial greats