Our Patrons

In 2007, to celebrate our 40th anniversary, the Association of MBAs asked eminent business graduates who exemplify the value of business education to be our patrons. These 21 distinguished leaders are a source of inspiration to current MBA students and recent graduates now embarking on their own careers. They are examples that testify to the value of the accredited MBA, and we are proud to have them as our ambassadors.

Sir David Arculus

Sir David Arculus is a past Chairman of the Government’s Better Regulation Task Force. In the private sector he has served as Chairman of O2 plc, Severn Trent plc, IPC Media and Earls Court and Olympia Ltd. Currently he holds a range of non-executive director appointments in both publicly and privately owned companies.

Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville

Lord Brooke was educated at Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford. He studied at Harvard Business School from 1957–9 where he completed his MBA, and subsequently became Research Associate for IMEDE and Swiss Correspondent for the Financial Times from 1960–1. At Spencer Stuart and Associates Management Consultants he progressed to Director of the Parent Company from 1965 and Chairman from 1974, serving in New York and Brussels. He was Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster from 1977–2001, and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2001. Lord Brooke served in Her Majesty’s Government from 1979–94 as Whip, Higher Education Minister, Minister of State and Paymaster General in Her Majesty’s Treasury, and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and then for National Heritage.

Sir Peter Burt

Sir Peter has been the Executive Chairman and Partner of Promethean plc since its inception in June 2005. He holds board seats for Cambria Automobiles Holdings Limited, Enterprise Group Limited, TIS & PDL, Promethean India plc and the Promethean India Investment Committee. Sir Peter started his career with Hewlett Packard in 1968 and subsequently joined Bank of Scotland’s International Division, where he was instrumental in the growth of its project finance business. In 1988, he was appointed as Chief General Manager and Chairman of the Bank’s Management Board. During this period he was involved in the Bank’s major transactions, including the purchase of Bank West in Australia from the Western Australian Government. Sir Peter was appointed as Group Chief Executive of Bank of Scotland in 1996 and was non-executive Director of Shell T&T plc and – following a merger – of Royal Dutch Shell plc. He was also an advisor to Apax Partners. Sir Peter was appointed to chair a report into local government finance in Scotland by the Scottish Executive published in November 2006. Most recently, Sir Peter was non-executive Chairman of ITV plc, the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster. Sir Peter received his MA from St Andrew’s University, Scotland and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he was a Thouron Scholar.

Michael Cassidy

Michael Cassidy, CBE has practised as a lawyer in the City of London for 36 years and is currently a Consultant with DLA Piper. In parallel with his legal career he has served in senior positions at the City of London Corporation – the local authority for the Square Mile – as Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee 1992–7, and before that as Planning Chairman. He Chaired the Barbican Arts Centre for three years. He is currently Chairman of the Museum of London and of Homerton University Hospital. He has recently finished terms as President of the London Chamber of Commerce and as a non-executive Director at British Land plc. He is a non-executive Director at UBS Ltd.

Sir Ronald Cohen

Sir Ronald is Chairman of Portland Capital LLP and The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures. He was the founding partner and former Chairman of Apax Partners. Founded in 1972, Apax Partners is one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups, operating in nine countries across Europe, the USA, Israel and Japan. Apax advises and manages funds of over $20 billion. Sir Ronald is currently Chairman of the Social Investment Task Force and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets. He is the Vice-Chairman of Ben Gurion University of the Negev and also a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers. Sir Ronald has been Chairman of the DTI ‘Tech Stars’ Steering Committee and a member of the DTI UK Competitiveness Committee. He was a founder and former Vice Chairman of EASDAQ and former Director of NASDAQ Europe. He was a founder Director and past Chairman of the British Venture Capital Association, a founder Director of the European Venture Capital Association and of the Quoted Companies Alliance (formerly CISCO). He is a graduate of Oxford University, where he was president of the Oxford Union, an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, and has an MBA from Harvard Business School, to which he was awarded a Henry Fellowship.

Sir Donald Cruickshank

Sir Donald became Chairman of publisher Taylor & Francis in March 2004 following his resignation as Chairman of SMG plc. Between 2000 and 2003 he was Chairman of the London Stock Exchange and previously enjoyed a varied career in the finance and media sectors, holding several public appointments. Sir Donald has been Commercial Director of Times Newspapers and General Manager of The Sunday Times. He subsequently became Managing Director of the Information & Entertainment division of Pearson plc, and Managing Director of the Virgin Group. He was also Chief Executive of the NHS in Scotland (1989–93) and Director General of Telecommunications (1993–8).

Maureen Duffy

Maureen Duffy started as a graduate trainee in advertising at JWT in the early 1980s working across a broad range of client categories. She was steadily promoted, eventually becoming Media Director, and responsible for major accounts – such as NatWest, Nuclear Electric, and Kellogg – and the running of their planning and buying operations. At the beginning of 1998 she moved to the BBC to set up a marketing department from scratch for BBC television, and won numerous awards for her work on high-profile titles like EastEnders and Walking with Dinosaurs, as well as being a key member of the launch teams for the new digital channels BBC Choice, BBC Knowledge and CBBC on Choice. In mid 2000, after attending Harvard’s Advanced Management Programme, Maureen joined David Liddiment’s programming team as commissioner for ITV daytime programming. In January 2003 she took up the post of CEO for the Newspaper Marketing Agency.

Sir Christopher Hogg

Sir Christopher became Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council on 1 January 2006. He began his career in industry with Courtaulds in 1968, going on to become Chief Executive in 1979, executive Chairman from 1980, and non-executive Chairman from 1991 to 1996. He was a non-executive Director and subsequently Chairman of Reuters Group (1984–2004), SmithKline Beecham and then GlaxoSmithKline (1993–2004), and Allied Domecq (1995–2002). Sir Christopher was a member of the Department of Industry’s Industrial Development Advisory Board from 1976–80 and a non-executive Director of the Bank of England from March 1992–6. He was non-executive Chairman of the National Theatre from 1995–2004 and a Trustee of the Ford Foundation from 1987–99. Sir Christopher is a graduate of Oxford and Harvard and saw active service with the Parachute Regiment in Cyprus and Suez on National Service. Before his career in industry he worked for three years in corporate finance in the City and for two years in the public sector.

Will Hutton

Will Hutton is Chief Executive of The Work Foundation, an independent, not-for-dividend research based consultancy. Will began his career as a stockbroker and investment analyst, before working in BBC television and radio as a producer and reporter. Prior to joining The Work Foundation, Will spent four years as editor-in-chief of The Observer and he continues to write a weekly column for the paper. He has written several best-selling economics books including The World We’re In, The State We’re In, The State to Come, The Stakeholding Society and On the Edge with Anthony Giddens. He won the Political Journalist of the Year award in 1993. In 2004, Will was invited by the EU Commission to join a high-level group on the midterm review of the Lisbon Strategy; he acted as rapporteur for the report. Other roles Will performs outside The Work Foundation include Governor of the London School of Economics, Honorary Fellow, Mansfield College, Oxford, Visiting Professor, Manchester University Business School and Bristol University, and he is a member of the Scott Trust. He is also a Fellow of the Sunningdale Institute. Will’s latest book, The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century, was published in the UK in January 2007.

Sir David John

Sir David was born in Wales in 1938. He graduated from Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1962 and received an MBA from Columbia University, New York in 1966. He attended the International Senior Management Programme at Harvard in 1984. In 1962 he joined United Steel in Sheffield as a trainee manager. After attending business school in the United States he worked for the Rio Tinto Group and then Redland. In 1981 he joined Gray Mackenzie, an Inchcape company, in Bahrain, becoming Chief Executive in 1986. He moved to Inchcape Berhad (in Singapore) as Chief Executive in 1987, and was Chairman from 1990 to 1994. Sir David became Chairman of Premier Oil plc in March 1998 and Chairman of the BSI Group in July 2002. He was appointed a non-executive Director of Balfour Beatty plc in August 2000 and was appointed Chairman in May 2003. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers. He served as a Director of the Development Trust – a sheltered housing charity for severely mentally handicapped people, and was a Member of the UK Development Board of RYA Sailability – a charity to encourage disabled people to sail. He was Vice President and Member of the Board, Prince of Wales’ Business Leaders Forum from 1996 to 1999.

Sir Michael Peat

Sir Michael read law at Trinity College, Oxford and completed his MBA at INSEAD. He was with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co (subsequently KPMG) from 1972–93 and became a partner in 1985. From 1987–2002 he was Administrative Adviser to The Queen and from 1996–2002 was Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to The Queen and Receiver General of the Duchy of Lancaster. From 2002 he has been Principal Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. Sir Michael is a trustee of the Goodwood Sculpture Foundation, Fellow of Eton College and Honorary Fellow of Trinity College Oxford. He is a trustee of the Chatsworth Settlement.

Sigurd Reinton

Sigurd Reinton was appointed Chairman of London Ambulance Service NHS Trust in 1999. For the previous two-and-a-half years he was the Chairman of the Mayday Healthcare Trust, which runs Mayday University Hospital in Croydon and the Purley Memorial Hospital. Mayday was voted Hospital of the Year 2005 by the Health Service Journal. Mr Reinton’s early career was in advertising and marketing. Most of his career has been with McKinsey & Company where he was a Senior Partner. Mr Reinton is an elected London Region representative on the National Council of the NHS Confederation and is on the Board of the Ambulance Service Association. He was also recently awarded an Honorary CBE.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville

After reading History and Psychology at King’s College, Cambridge, Lord Sainsbury joined J Sainsbury plc in 1963. He received an MBA from the Columbia Graduate School of Business in New York in 1971. He was Finance Director of J Sainsbury plc from 1973–90, Deputy Chairman from 1988–92 and Chairman from 1992–8. David Sainsbury became Lord Sainsbury of Turville in October 1997. He was appointed Minister of Science and Innovation from July 1998 until November 2006, and had responsibility for the Office of Science and Technology, Innovation, Space, the Bioscience and Chemical Industries and the Patent Office. He is an Honorary Fellow of King’s College Cambridge and in 2003 received, on behalf of the Sainsbury family, the Andrew Carnegie medal for philanthropy. In 2007 he produced, for the Government, a review of the Government’s science and innovation policies: ‘The Race to the Top’.

Alastair Salvesen

Alastair Salvesen was educated at Fettes and achieved his MBA at Cranfield in 1966. He became Chairman of Dawnfresh Seafoods Ltd in 1983 and has also chaired Dovecot Studios Ltd and New Ingliston Ltd. He was President of the British Foods Federation from 1995–7 and President of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland from 2001–2. In 2007 he became Chairman of the Shellfish Committee of the Food and Drink Federation. He established the Alastair Salvesen Art Scholarship in 1989 and is Governor of the Fettes Trust, the Donaldson’s Trust and Compass School. Alastair Salvesen is author of Slekton Salvesen 1552–1995.

Bruno Schroder

Bruno Schroder attended the Université de Tours, the School of Languages in Hamburg, the University of Oxford and Harvard Business School. From 1954 to 1955 he worked for Schroder Gebrüder (Bank) in Hamburg and he joined the Schroder Group in London in 1960 where he worked in the Commercial Banking and Corporate Finance divisions of J. Henry Schroder Wagg & Co Ltd. In 1963 he was appointed a Director of Schroders plc and is now a non-executive Director and major shareholder of the company. He was Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths Company and is a member of the executive committee of the Air Squadron and trustee of the Winston Churchill Foundation.

Dame Helena Shovelton

Dame Helena is currently Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation. In this role she sits on the following groups: UK Lung Cancer Coalition, the Department of Health’s Lung Cancer & Mesothelioma Action Group and the Department of Health’s Physiological Measurement National Oversight Group. She is also a member of the External Reference Group for the COPD NSF and on a new working group attached to the End of Life Strategy Group. Dame Helena also chairs the steering group for the Tobacco Control Coalition. She is a non-executive Director of the Energy Saving Trust. Previously, Dame Helena was Chair of the Audit Commission having been a Commissioner since 1995. She has also been a member of the Competition Commission for seven years and a trustee for the RAF Benevolent Fund. Dame Helena spent two years as a member of the Better Regulation Task Force and three years as Commissioner and then Deputy Chairman of the Local Government Commission for England and is a former member of the Banking Code Standards Board. Helena has also been Chair of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureau, with a further four years as Vice Chair.

Lord Simon of Highbury

Currently Deputy Chairman of the Unilever Group and a non-Executive Director of the Suez Group, Lord Simon is also a Senior Adviser of Morgan Stanley International and a member of the International Advisory Council of Fitch and of Dana Gas. He also sits on the Council of Cambridge University and was a Trustee of the Cambridge Foundation, having been the Foundation’s Chairman from 2001–5. Lord Simon is a former Minister for Trade and Competitiveness for Europe at the Department of Trade and Industry and Her Majesty’s Treasury 1997–9. He is also a former Chairman of British Petroleum (1995–7) and Group Chief Executive (1992–5), having joined the Board in 1986. He was appointed CBE in 1991, knighted in 1995 and created a Life Peer in 1997.

Paul Skinner

Paul Skinner is Chairman of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Ltd, which together form Rio Tinto, the global mining and minerals company, dual-listed in the UK and Australia. He joined the boards of Rio Tinto as a non-executive Director in 2001 and became Chairman in November 2003. Paul was born in 1944 and educated at Cambridge University, where he graduated in law, and later at the Manchester Business School. He joined the Royal Dutch/Shell group of companies as a student in 1963. During his career he worked in all Shell’s main businesses, including senior appointments in the UK, Greece, Nigeria, New Zealand and Norway. From 1999 he was CEO of the Group’s global Oil Products business and was Managing Director of The Shell Transport and Trading Company plc, and a Group Managing Director from 2000–3. Paul is a non-executive Director of Standard Chartered plc, of Air Liquide South Africa, and of the Tetra Laval Group, the privately-owned global foods packaging company. He is a non-executive member of the Management Board of the UK Ministry of Defence and of INSEAD. He was President of the UK Chamber of Shipping 1997–8 and is Chairman of the governing body of ICC UK.

Sir Cyril Taylor

Since 1987 Sir Cyril has served as Chairman of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), and from 1987 to 2007 as Adviser to ten successive Secretaries of State for Education on specialist schools and academies, serving in a voluntary unpaid capacity. He is the founder Chairman and principal shareholder of the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS). AIFS and its family of companies organise cultural exchange programmes throughout the world. In 1970, AIFS established Richmond, the American International University in London. Sir Cyril serves as Chancellor and Founder. Richmond is a unique, non-profit university with 1,000 full time students from 100 countries accredited by both the American and British education authorities.

Sir David Varney

Sir David was appointed The Prime Minister’s adviser on Public Service Transformation in July 2007. Sir David was the first executive Chairman of the newly merged Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs 2004–2006, where he led the establishment of the second-largest Government department. Prior to this, Sir David was Chairman of MMO2 (2001–2004) and Chief Executive of BG (1996–2001). From 1968 to 1996 he worked at Shell in a variety of positions, including Managing Director of Shell UK’s downstream business and a Director of Shell International Petroleum. He is a former Chairman of Business in the Community and former president of the Chartered Institute of Management.

Sir Alcon Copisarow

Sir Alcon Copisarow served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, followed by 20 years as a civil servant in which capacity he was Secretary of the Franks Committee which recommended the first UK business schools. He was successively Scientific Counsellor at the British Embassy in Paris and worked as a DSIR Laboratory Director, with the National Economic Development Council and a Chief Scientific Officer. From 1966-76, he was the first non-American Senior Partner of McKinsey & Company Inc, where he directed assignments such as the re-organisation of the Bank of England, the Californian aerospace industry and the Government of Hong Kong. Subsequently in the UK he was a Board Member of the British National Oil Corporation, British Leyland, Chairman of Apax (1981-94), Special Advisor to Ernst & Young, co-founder and Chairman of Trustees of the Prince’s Youth Business Trust, and Chairman of the Eden Project and the Athenaeum. He was also a careers adviser and fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge.