Jimmy Hahn

I remember Jimmy Hahn as a tough, energetic and very effective manager. Singapore was his power base during his Reuters career. He took over there as the first non-local office manager and quickly made his mark. He had an impressive network of contacts and connections that helped him navigate the choppy waters of Asian and corporate politics.

When I went to Vietnam as Reuters bureau chief in late 1965, Jimmy was the regional boss, Manager South-East Asia. He came to Saigon occasionally on business matters, always supportive of the bureau but never interfering in the editorial operation. He was generous with his contacts, including a very useful colonel in the South Korean CIA whom I got know in some memorable late-night sessions. Their common language, luckily, was English, in which Jimmy was more at home than in Korean.

Jimmy had always been skilful at keeping close relations with Head Office, but when he abruptly left the Company in 1969 it was attributed to a falling out with Brian Horton, the Editor-in-Chief. The story going the rounds was that Jimmy telephoned Horton in London to tell him he was resigning and added: “Oh Brian, just one thing, don’t you get out the knives because I can get out the long knives, and if you get out the long knives I can get out the longer knives...”

Hahn went on to pursue a successful business and media career in the region. ■