George Simpson, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld

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George Simpson, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld (born July 2, 1942 in Dundee ) is a British politician ( Labor Party ) and businessman .

life and career

Training and career start

Simpson was born the son of a factory manager and grew up in Perthshire . He studied accounting at Dundee Technical College , graduating in 1963.

From 1964 to 1968 he was a senior accountant at Scottish Gas . From 1969 to 1977 he held a senior finance position at British Leyland . From 1978 to 1979 he was Financial Director of Leyland Truck & Bus Ltd . He was Managing Director of Coventry Climax from 1980 to 1982 and of Freight Rover from 1983 to 1985. From 1986 to 1987 he held this position with Rover Group Commercial Vehicles .

Management positions at Rover and Marconi

Simpson joined the Leyland-DAF subsidiary of the Rover Group in 1988 and took on the position of Managing Director there in January 1989. Simpson reorganized the company; he replaced the three boards of Austin Rover , Land Rover and the Rover Group with a single body. At that time, Rover had been privatized and sold to British Aerospace (Bae). In the early 1990s, Simpson had become a member of the Bae Council. He also became Chairman of Rover in September 1991 when its predecessor, Sir Graham Day, became Interim Chairman of British Aerospace. Day promoted Simpson to British Aerospace's Deputy Chief Executive in December 1991 to "toughen" the company's management. He remained Executive Chairman of Rover, but was replaced as Managing Director.

Simpson built a reputation for reorganizing troubled companies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As chairman of the board of directors of the Marconi company , however, he was later involved in one of the largest company failures in Great Britain.

Simpson was a member of the Supervisory Board of DAF NV (DAF Trucks NV) from 1989 to 1994 . From 1992 to 1994 he was Chairman and Deputy Chief Executive of British Aerospace . In November 1993 he was announced as CEO of Lucas Industries . At the time, Simpson was widely recognized for his role in overcoming the rover crisis. Before taking up his position at Lucas Industries, he was involved in the sale of Rover to BMW . He took part in negotiations aimed at increasing Honda's stake in Rover from 20% to 47.5% with the aim of going public. However, BMW offered £ 800 million for Rover Group, which would relieve British Aerospace of Rover's “big appetite for money” from its £ 200 million daily debt and £ 700 million in other obligations. Simpson traveled to Japan to ask if Honda could keep up with the offer, which they declined. From 1994 to 1996 he was Chief Executive of Lucas Industries.

On March 18, 1996, Simpson was confirmed as Managing Director of GEC, replacing Arnold Weinstock, Baron Weinstock . The newspaper The Independent reported that "some analysts believe that Mr. Simpson's insider knowledge" was important. The effects of the collapse lasted well into the aftermath of Simpson's resignation. Despite a major reorganization, the problems persisted until 2005, when an important contract with BT Group failed, forcing the company to look for a buyer. Marconi was bought by Ericsson in 2005 . Parts not acquired from Ericsson became Telent plc . At Marconi plc (previously General Electric Company ), he was initially managing director from 1996 to 1999 and then chief executive from 1999 to 2001. He was a Non-Executive Director of Pilkington from 1992 to 1999 and of ICI plc from 1995 to 2001 . He has been the Non-Executive Director of Alstom SA since 1998 and of Nestlé SA since 1999 . Since 2001, he occupied the same position in the northwest Venture Capital Fund Ltd. of the Bank of Scotland made.

Other offices

From 1991 to 1993 he was a member of the Government Advisory Committee on Business and Environment . From 1993 to 1995, Simpson was President of the West Midlands Development Agency . From 1995 to 1996 he was President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), where he was previously Vice-President . From 1995 to 1997 he was a member of the Commission on Public Policy and a member of the British Business Institute of Public Policy Research .

He is also a member of the Senate of the Energy Council and Governor of the London Business School . Simpson is currently the Governor of the Economic Forum and a member of the European Round Table . He is an independent Director ( Independent Director ) of the Triumph Group Inc . He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Abertay University and the SMMT Charitable Fund .

Since 1991 he has been visiting professor ( Industry Professor ) at the University of Warwick .

Membership in the House of Lords

Simpson was named Baron Simpson of Dunkeld, of Dunkeld in Perth and Kinross on November 5, 1997 as a Life Peer . Its official introduction to the House of Lords took place on November 17, 1997 with the assistance of Arnold Weinstock, Baron Weinstock and Simon Haskel, Baron Haskel .

He gave his inaugural address in the House of Lords on April 1, 1998. He gives trade and industry as his political interests.

From 2004 to 2010 and since 2011 he has been on leave of absence given by the House of Lords . On February 16, 2011, he took part in a vote for the first time since 2000.

Simpson was rarely present from the beginning of his membership.

On July 30, 2015, Simpson voluntarily retired and left the House of Lords under the rules of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

Honors

Simpson is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants , Associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators , Fellow of the Institute of Motor Industry , the Chartered Institute of Transport and the Royal Society of Arts .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ George Simpson entry on The Gazetteer for Scotland website ; Retrieved May 9, 2013
  2. ^ Williams, Ian (Jan. 8, 1989). Rover gears up with a shuffle; Rover Group in: The Times (Times Newspapers Limited).
  3. ^ Honda's backroom role in fly-drive synergy; the conclusion of a series on British Aerospace examines its car and other diversifications in: Financial Times (The Financial Times Limited): p. 12
  4. ↑ Betts, Paul; Hill, Andrew (December 11, 1991): BAe strengthens top management in: Financial Times (The Financial Times Limited): p. 24
  5. ↑ Tieman, Ross (18 November 1993): Simpson quits Rover for tough challenge Lucas . In: The Times (Times Newspapers Limited)
  6. ↑ Lorenz, Andrew; Lynn, Matthew (February 6, 1991): BMW drives in: The Sunday Times (Times Newspapers Limited)
  7. ↑ Barker, Thorold (December 18, 2001): A year in the life of an industry leader . Financial Times (The Financial Times Limited): p. 4
  8. ↑ Lord Simpson of Dunkeld Excerpt from the minutes of the House of Lords meeting of November 17, 1997
  9. ^ House of Lords: Members 'expenses Members' expenses on the House of Lords website ; Retrieved May 9, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Simpson, George, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Labor Party politician and businessman
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Dundee