Carolyn Fairbairn

Last updated

Dame

Carolyn Fairbairn

DBE
Born
Carolyn Julie Fairbairn

(1960-12-13) 13 December 1960 (age 63)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
University of Pennsylvania
INSEAD
Occupation(s)Director-general, Confederation of British Industry
SpousePeter Chittick
Children3

Dame Carolyn Julie Fairbairn DBE (born 13 December 1960) is a British businesswoman, former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, and a former non-executive director of the Competition and Markets Authority, Lloyds Banking Group, BAE Systems, and the UK Statistics Authority. She has been the Chair of the Royal Mencap Society since March 2022. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Fairbairn attended Bryanston School as a sixth-form scholar. [2] She graduated with a BA in economics (double first) from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, then an MA in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by an MBA from INSEAD in France. [3]

Career

She began her career as an economist at the World Bank. In 1985, she became a business and financial journalist, writing for The Economist magazine. [4]

In 1988, she joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant and, during a seven-year career, rose to partner. She worked with companies in sectors including brewing, DIY retailing, computer services, investment management and newspapers, advising on mergers, business expansion, cost control and global competitiveness. [4] In 1995, she joined the Downing Street Policy Unit under the then prime minister, John Major, developing policy for health and social services. [3]

In 1997, Fairbairn was appointed director of strategy for BBC Worldwide, later promoted to director of strategy ad distribution, and also became a member of the BBC's executive board. She was responsible for delivery of the BBC's services to viewers, including on cable and satellite. She managed a budget of £150 million and negotiated the BBC's major distribution deals with Sky, Virgin and BT. She helped to develop the BBC's digital strategy and renewal of its charter, and was instrumental in creating One BBC. In 2002/3, she created and launched Freeview – a joint venture between the BBC, Sky and Arqiva, which became one of the UK's most successful new television services. [4]

On 6 October 2004, the BBC announced that Fairbairn and her husband had "decided to take time out from their careers to spend a year travelling around the world with their three children". [5]

Fairbairn briefly rejoined McKinsey & Company in 2006, before becoming director of corporate development and strategy at ITV plc between 2007 and 2010. She joined the company at a time of crisis as the advertising market collapsed following the financial crash. She was put in charge of ITV's emergency cost-reduction programme to cut the company's cost base by 25%. This enabled ITV to weather the storm and subsequently return to growth. [4]

On 24 July 2013 David Currie, the chairman-designate of the new Competition and Markets Authority, announced Fairbairn's appointment as a non-executive director. Between 2008 and 2011, Carolyn was a non-executive director of the Financial Services Authority. [4]

Fairbairn has extensive boardroom experience, including as a non-executive director of Lloyds Banking Group (2012-15), The Vitec Group, a medium-sized photographic and broadcast equipment supplier (2012-1), the global outsourcer Capita (2014-15) and the UK Statistics Authority (2013-15). [4]

In March 2021, she was appointed non-executive director of BAE Systems plc. [6] She resigned just over a year later in May 2022 to take up the position of Chair of the Royal Mencap Society. [7] [8]

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

In June 2015, it was announced that she would replace John Cridland in November as director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, as a result of which she would resign all other positions aside from her chair of the charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care. [9]

Fairbairn has spoken about her vision for the CBI saying, "I've spent most of my working life in British business and believe deeply in its purpose as a creator of fulfilling jobs, quality of life and prosperity. I'm committed to using my experience to speak up passionately on behalf of British businesses of all sizes on the national and international stage." [4]

In June 2020, the CBI announced that Fairbairn would step down at the end of 2020 and would be replaced by Tony Danker. [10]

Personal life

She is married to Peter Chittick and they have three children. [11] Chittick is Canadian, trained as a lawyer, and met Fairbairn when they were students at INSEAD. [12] He is a multimillionaire property developer, and together they own the "boutique" Hotel Crillon Le Brave in Provence, France. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederation of British Industry</span> UK business organization

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the Financial Times as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by royal charter, its mission is to promote the conditions in which businesses of all sizes and sectors in the UK can compete and prosper for the benefit of all. In 2023, the association was shaken by numerous accusations of sexual misconduct in the organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell</span> British businessman (born 1955)

Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell is a British businessman and academic who was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority during the global financial crisis, serving from 2008 until its abolition in March 2013. He is a former Chairman of the Pensions Commission and the Committee on Climate Change, as well as a former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry. He has described himself in a BBC HARDtalk interview with Stephen Sackur as a 'technocrat'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mencap</span> British charity advocating for people with learning disabilities

The Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the United Kingdom that works with people with learning disabilities. Its Charity Number is 222377.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bazalgette</span> British television executive

Sir Peter Lytton Bazalgette is a British television executive and producer, also active in the fields of the Arts and broader creative industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Reporting Council</span> Regulator responsible for promoting high quality corporate governance

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. The FRC seeks to promote transparency and integrity in business by aiming its work at investors and others who rely on company reports, audits and high-quality risk management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Barker</span> British economist

Dame Katharine Mary Barker is a British economist. She is principally noted for her role at the Bank of England and for advising the British government on social issues such as housing and health care.

Dame Josephine Williams, is a British administrator and social worker who was the chief executive of Mencap until 1 November 2008. She was chairman of the Care Quality Commission between 2010 and 2012.

Dame Fiona Claire Reynolds is a British former civil servant and chair of the National Audit Office. She was previously Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Director-General of the National Trust. She is the current Chair of the Governing Council at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn McCall</span> British businesswoman

Dame Carolyn Julia McCall is a British businesswoman. She has been the chief executive of ITV since 2018. She previously served as the chief executive of EasyJet from 2010 to 2017.

William Samuel Hugh Laidlaw is the Executive Chairman of Neptune Energy, the independent E&P company. He is former chief executive officer of Centrica, the British natural gas and electricity company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Carr (businessman)</span> British businessman

Sir Roger Martyn Carr is a British businessman. He was chairman of BAE Systems until May 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby McGregor-Smith</span> British business executive and politician

Ruby McGregor-Smith, Baroness McGregor-Smith, is a British business executive and politician. McGregor-Smith was the former CEO of Mitie Group PLC, a UK facilities management business, from 2007 to 2016. She was nominated as a Conservative life peer in August 2015.

Dame Elizabeth Pauline Lucy Corley is a British businesswoman and writer. She is Chair of the Impact Investing Institute. She was CEO of Allianz Global Investors, initially for Europe and then globally, from 2005 to 2016. She continued to act as an advisor to the company in various capacities until the end of 2019. She is also a Non-Executive Director at BAE Systems plc, Morgan Stanley Inc. and Schroders plc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cridland</span>

John Cridland, CBE is a British business executive. He was the tenth Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from January 2011 to November 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rona Fairhead, Baroness Fairhead</span>

Rona Alison Fairhead, Baroness Fairhead,, is a life peer and businesswoman. She served as a minister of state at the Department for International Trade from 2017 to 2019. Prior to that, she was the last chairman of the BBC Trust before its abolition and the first woman to hold the post.

Trudy Norris-Grey is a Welsh businesswoman, and is a well-recognized leader in the U.K., globally and in the Tech industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Alexander (businesswoman)</span> British businesswoman (1957–201)

Dame Helen Anne Alexander DBE was a British businesswoman. She served as the chairman of UBM plc. She had an MA from Oxford, an MBA from INSEAD and in 2016 was awarded the Legion d'Honneur. She was Chancellor of the University of Southampton (2011–2017).

Dame Susan Ilene Rice, Lady Rice, is a British banker, company and charity director and Chair of Scottish Water, Business Stream, North American Income Trust, and non-executive director of the Office for Budget Responsibility. In 2000 she became the first women to lead a British clearing bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Manzie</span> British public servant (born 1960)

Dame Stella Gordon Manzie is a British public servant.

Tony Danker is a British lobbyist and former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from November 2020 to March 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "DAME CAROLYN FAIRBAIRN ANNOUNCED AS MENCAP'S NEW CHAIR". Mencap. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. ↑ Higgins, Ria (19 June 2016). "A Life in the Day: Carolyn Fairbairn" . The Sunday Times. London: Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
    - Flanagan, Martin (14 May 2016). "Big Interview: Carolyn Fairbairn of the CBI". The Scotsman. JPIMedia Ltd. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 "xecutive Profile - Carolyn J. Fairbairn BA, MA, MBA". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Carolyn Fairbairn to become next CBI Director-General" (Press release). CBI. June 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Carolyn Fairbairn to leave the BBC" (Press release). BBC. 6 October 2004.
  6. ↑ Thicknesse, Edward (11 February 2021). "Dame Carolyn Fairbairn joins BAE Systems in non-exec role". CityAM. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  7. ↑ Robinson, Jon (30 March 2022). "Former CBI boss to step down from BAE Systems board after taking charity role". Business Live. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "DAME CAROLYN FAIRBAIRN ANNOUNCED AS MENCAP'S NEW CHAIR". Mencap. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "CBI appoints Carolyn Fairbairn as director general". BBC News. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Tony Danker named as next CBI Director-General" (Press release). CBI. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  11. ↑ Farrell, Sean (29 June 2015). "Business secretary Sajid Javid attacks CBI over EU referendum". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Interview with Peter Chittick, Owner of Hotel Crillon Le Brave". Candid. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "Boutique hotel owner checks in at the top of CBI" . The Times. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
Business positions
Preceded by Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry
2015–2020		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.