Consul tries to find Brits' fit in economy.

• Position: People

For Charlotteans obsessed with whether their city is "world-class," British-born Michael Teden has bad news about its status among his countrymen. "If you mention Charlotte, they get confused with Charleston, South Carolina," says Teden, who has lived in the Queen City 24 years and is honorary British consul for North Carolina. "There's an awareness of North Carolina, but specific cities still prompt a confused look."

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The uncertainty works both ways. Ask state officials how much British investment there is here, and you'll get figures that range from $2.5 billion to $4 billion. Teden's self-appointed task is to clear up the confusion.

Honorary consul since July 2001, Teden, 53, oversees the British Consulate in Charlotte. Part of his role is aiding British citizens with everything from visa issues to legal troubles. The other part is to talk up the potential for English companies to invest in and export to North Carolina and for Tar Heel companies to do likewise with the United Kingdom. That's why he's spearheading a project to calculate precisely what investment his native country has made here.

He gets only $1,900 a year for his consulate work. His real job is in insurance. He was recruited to the United States in 1979 to start a subsidiary of a Lloyd's of London brokerage firm in Charlotte (Tongue-Tied, March 1996). Eight months ago, Teden formed the Charlotte-based consultancy Whitehall Insurance Group LLC.

Somewhere between running a business, organizing conferences for the British American Business Council of the...