Never before have I heard of the head-hunting of a central banker. So, when Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah spoke of a panel to recruit a successor for Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, I took it as a good joke.
Let's ignore the smokescreen and focus on the de facto successor Norman Chan Tak-lam - a name that many of you have heard but probably have difficulty putting a face to it.
Who exactly is Mr Chan?
Ask people in the financial arena and you hear only praise. Ask people in politics and you hear only criticism. Rarely do the two extremes happen with the same individual.
Given the job nature, let's start with his financial expertise first. There is no better way to sum it up than with a story.
It's late 2000. China and the rest of Asia have barely emerged from the shadow of the Asian financial crisis. Then-premier Zhu Rongji wanted to hire a Hong Kong banker to work for the People's Bank of China to give the dinosaur a boost. This is unprecedented. It is controversial. On top of his list is Norman Chan, then No2 at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.