Six Degrees Of Separation

Tom Hicks is a Dallas-area businessman and investor, who made his LBO bones in the late 1980s by co-founding Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. He left the firm nearly three years ago, soon after which the European team spun out into an independent entity called Lion Capital. One of Lion’s co-founders is…

Robert Darwent, a former HMTF pro who recently worked on the acquisition of UK lingerie chain Contessa from…

Theo Paphitas, who is known to British television audiences as a judge on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den program. Co-starring with Paphitas is…

Peter Jones, founder of Phones International, who went stateside last year as a judge on a Dragon’s Den knockoff called American Investor. The U.S. show was created by…

Simon Cowell, the acerbic arbiter of American Idol—a show won last year by…

Taylor Hicks, a gray-haired soul singer now best known for his Ford commercials.