Giles Clarke | |
---|---|
Chairman England and Wales Cricket Board | |
In office 2007–2015 | |
Preceded by | David Morgan |
Succeeded by | Colin Graves |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Giles Clarke 29 May 1953 Bristol,Gloucestershire,UK [1] |
Spouse | Judy née Gould (m. 1983) |
Children | 1 son |
Education | Rugby School |
Alma mater | Oriel College,Oxford |
Profession | Businessman |
Awards | CBE |
Charles Giles Clarke CBE DL (born 29 May 1953),is a British businessman then cricket administrator,who served as Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Born at Bristol,son of Charles Clarke and Stella née Herbert JP DL (Vice-Lieutenant of Bristol 2004–07),Clarke attended Rugby School,before going down to Oriel College,Oxford.
At Oxford,Clarke read Persian with Arabic,reputedly paying his way through gambling,before graduating as BA (proceeding MA). [2] He then pursued further studies for a year at Damascus University Arabic language school. [3]
Clarke began his career as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston. In 1981 he bought from receivership the assets of what was to become Majestic Wine, [4] where,as chairman,he built it into a UK national chain. From August 1987 to May 1988,Clarke was chairman of Majestic Wine Corporation Inc,a United States company which owned a chain of 104 stores trading as Liquor Barn in California and Arizona. [5] Following the disposal of its US-based businesses,he sold the UK plc business of Majestic Wine for £15 million in 1989. [6]
In 1990,Clarke founded Pet City,where,as CEO,he built it into a chain of 94 stores. After floating the business in 1995,he sold it for £150 million in 1996 to US-based PetsMart. [7] In 1998,Clarke founded Safestore,building it into the UK's third largest self storage company before selling it to Bridgepoint Capital for £44million in August 2003. [8] In 1999,Clarke became CEO of Stepstone, [9] an online career portal.
Clarke is chairman and controlling shareholder,via his company Westleigh Investments, [10] of:
And previously:
Clarke has been appointed to the following public bodies:
A keen club cricketer,Clarke served as Chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club,becoming instrumental in developing the club both on and off the field by consulting ex-cricketers including Sir Ian (now Lord) Botham. [2] Consequently he was appointed a non-executive director of the England and Wales Cricket Board,and as Chairman of ECB Marketing led the negotiations for the ECB's financially advantageous four-year TV and radio broadcasting rights deal signed with BSkyB,Five and the BBC in December 2004. [25] On 25 September 2007 Clarke was elected Chairman of the ECB, [26] re-elected in 2009,and again in March 2012 for a further three years. [27] In April 2015 Clarke was nominated as the inaugural President of the ECB,with the primary role of representing the ECB on the International Cricket Council's executive board. [28]
Clarke was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for "services to cricket". [29] [30]
As chief executive of the ECB,Clarke attracted some controversy surrounding the Stanford Super Series,which was bankrolled by the now-convicted American financier Sir Allen Stanford,who offered a US$20million winner-takes-all match against the Stanford Superstars,a team comprising players from the West Indies. Although England had a warm-up game against the West Indies as part of the Super Series,members of the England team,captained by Kevin Pietersen,felt that they were underprepared prior to the match:England lost by 10 wickets.
Although featured in archive interviews and footage as part of a three-part Sky Documentary series entitled The Man Who Bought Cricket,Clarke declined to participate personally. [31]
Clarke is a member of Marylebone Cricket Club.
In 1983,Clarke married Judy Gould;the couple have a son Jack –after whom the brasserie in Bristol is named. Protective of his family private life,when his name appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List in the mid-1990s,Clarke took steps to shield his financial interests from public view. [32]
The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol.
Ashley Fraser Giles is a former English first-class cricketer,who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
Edward Colston was an English merchant,slave trader,philanthropist,and Tory Member of Parliament.
Stapleton is an area in the northeastern suburbs of the city of Bristol,England. The name is colloquially used today to describe the ribbon village along Bell Hill and Park Road in the Frome Valley. It borders Eastville to the South and Begbrook and Frenchay to the North. It comprises an eclectic mix of housing mainly from the Victorian,Edwardian,inter-war and late 20th century periods.
Collegiate School is a private day school in Bristol,England,and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transition from the name Colston’s to Collegiate after BLM protests in 2020.
Montpelier High School is a girls secondary Academy,located in the Montpelier area of Bristol,England. The school building was designed by William Venn Gough and dates from 1891. It uses a polychrome mix of various Northern Renaissance styles,built in red Cattybrook brick with yellow brick and buff terracotta dressings,and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.
Bristol Beacon,previously Colston Hall,is a concert hall and Grade II listed building on Colston Street,Bristol,England. It is owned by Bristol City Council. Since 2011,it has been managed by Bristol Music Trust.
John Pix Weston CBE FREng is a British businessman.
Colin James Graves is a British entrepreneur who founded the Costcutter chain of convenience stores before serving as Chairman of the ECB.
Bristol,a port city in south-west England,was involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Bristol's part in the trade was prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries as the city's merchants used their position to gain involvement. It is estimated that over 500,000 enslaved African people were traded by Bristol merchants.
Andrew Douglas Brownsword CBE DL is an English entrepreneur who established the Forever Friends company. He has regularly featured on the Sunday Times Rich List,with an estimated fortune of £190 million.
Beacon Tower,formerly Colston Tower,is a high-rise building located on Colston Avenue,in the centre of Bristol,England. The building was designed in 1961,but not completed until 1973. It rises 63 metres (207 ft) and has 15 floors of offices. The building had been named after the Bristol-born slave trader,philanthropist and Member of Parliament Edward Colston.
Majestic Wineis the UK's largest specialist wine retailer. The company employs more than 1,300 employees nationwide,and operates more than 200 stores across the United Kingdom. The business is headquartered in Watford and has a distribution centre in Hemel Hempstead.
Sir Steven George West is a British podiatrist,the vice-chancellor,president and chief executive officer of the University of the West of England since 2008. He holds a number of national and international advisory appointments in higher education,healthcare policy and regional government.
Frederick David Morgan,is a British cricket administrator,who served as President of the International Cricket Council from 2008 to 2010.
Sir James Napier Tidmarsh was the Lord Lieutenant of Bristol from 1996 until 2007.
Safestore is the UK’s largest and Europe’s second largest provider of self-storage. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Andrew Nisbet is a Director of Key West Holdings,which holds his family's interests in catering supplies and property. He is also founder of catering supplies retailer Nisbets Plc.
Terence Charles Mordaunt is a British entrepreneur,chairman and co-owner of The Bristol Port Company.
The statue of Edward Colston is a bronze statue of Bristol-born merchant and trans-Atlantic slave trader,Edward Colston (1636–1721). It was created in 1895 by the Irish sculptor John Cassidy and was formerly erected on a plinth of Portland stone in a public space known as "The Centre" in Bristol,until it was toppled by anti-racism protestors in 2020.