Revolution unseats Katherine the Great

Eight years as chief executive of a listed company isn't a bad run, particularly when the pay and bonus last year hit £1.4m.

But those years have been tough going for Katherine Garrett-Cox at Alliance Trust, as she's spent much of that time under siege by activist shareholders.

Her departure looked all but inevitable. She was forced to concede ground and board places to Elliott Partners hedge fund.

She then lost her seat on the board, her business and investment strategies were dumped, and her ally and chairwoman Karin Forseke was ousted.

With all that, the nickname she carries without evident relish, Katherine the Great, wasn't looking as apt as once it did.

Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin moved in to the chair only a few weeks ago. Alliance Trust insiders said he had until July to see whether the Dundee asset manager could meet expectations of returns and efficiency, or hand over its funds to a bigger player.

Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin took over as chairman of Alliance Trust chair only a few weeks ago

The new chairman was described as 'agnostic' on that question and told colleagues that he was not attracted to the job if it merely involved wielding the hatchet on the chief executive.

Lord Smith has previous. Made famous for his chairing roles of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the cross-party devolution commission that bore his name, he first hit the headlines as the man who infamously ousted "superwoman" Nicola Horlick from her City of London high flyer post. That was 19 years ago.

In exiting, Garrett-Cox has stressed how she has served shareholders with a view to the long-term, and reflecting the Alliance Trust heritage across generations of investors.

The implication is that others might have rather more short-term horizons. Elliott Partners has a habit of getting in, getting ruthless and getting out fast.

For those from the Garrett-Cox regime who remain at the Dundee headquarters, it's not clear who could lead the fight to retain its asset management role.

That July deadline for the test of her strategy may have just been made redundant.

Aberdeen Asset Management is one of those waiting for opportunity to beckon for a big new asset management mandate from Dundee.