Garnier, as you know, will be retiring from Glaxo shortly and already he has found ways to keep busy. The unflappable man has agreed to join a newly formed advisory board of Dubai International Capital, the Middle East emirate’s $13b sovereign wealth fund, The Independent reports. His role will apparently involve seeking out investments abroad and provide key contacts. Hmm. Do you think he would recommend anything in the pharma sector? Which, if any, of his rivals do you think he’d like to see bought out? Or maybe he’d say none are terribly attractive?

The fund is the investment vehicle most often used by the Dubai government for foreign acquisitions, which have become a priority as it tries to diversify away from its dependence on oil revenues and establish itself as the financial center of the Middle East, the paper writes. In the past two months, the emirate has bought stakes in the London Stock Exchange, the US hedge fund giant Och-Ziff, the southern European private equity giant Marfin, and earlier this week, Japan’s Sony.

JP will be one of three outside members on the new supervisory board of DIC’s Global Strategic Equities Fund (GSEF), a $2b fund established this year. The goal of the fund is “to become a leading shareholder in pre-eminent global large capitalisation stocks, whilst aiming to create value through long-term exposure to a concentrated portfolio of undervalued companies,” the paper writes.

Also joining the board are Helmut Panke, BMW’s former ceo, and Nobuyuki Idei, chairman of Sony’s advisory board. Politicians have called for greater regulation of sovereign wealth funds. The addition of Mr Garnier and the other high-profile corporate execs could somehow help to ease regulator concerns, the paper speculates.

JP has led Glaxo since 2000. While at the helm he has faced down several controversies, including a shareholder revolt over his multi-million-dollar pay package, the paper reminds us. And he is recently unveiled a restructuring program ( see story below ) that will see thousand of jobs cut. He steps down in May.

Hat tip to PharmaGossip