Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was demerged from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC then renamed itself Marconi plc.
The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. Founded in 1886, the company was Britain's largest private employer with over 250,000 employees in the 1980s, and made profits of over £1 billion a year at its peak in the 1990s.
The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies.
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton,, was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, Chairman of the General Electric Company from 1983 to 1984, and Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. In Margaret Thatcher's first government, he played a major role in negotiating the Lancaster House Agreement that ended the racial conflict in Rhodesia and enabled the creation of Zimbabwe.
George Simpson, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld is a British businessman and former Labour - and later unaffiliated - member of the House of Lords. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Simpson gained a reputation for turning around struggling companies. However, as CEO of Marconi plc he presided over one of the largest collapses in British corporate history.
Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge, was a senior British Army officer. He was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1992 to 1994 and then served as Chief of the Defence Staff before retiring in 1997. Early in his military career he saw action during the Malayan Emergency and Operation Banner in Northern Ireland, and later in his career he provided advice to the British Government during the Bosnian War.
Field Marshal Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, is a retired senior officer of the British Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1994 to 1997 and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1997 until his retirement in 2001.
Marconi Communications, the former telecommunications arm of Britain's General Electric Company plc (GEC), was founded in August 1998 through the amalgamation of GEC Plessey Telecommunications (GPT) with other GEC subsidiaries: Marconi SpA, GEC Hong Kong, and ATC South Africa.
Eric Roll, Baron Roll of Ipsden was a British academic economist, public servant and banker. He was made a life peer in 1977.
Admiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood "Jock" Slater, is a retired Royal Navy officer. He commanded a minesweeper, a frigate and then a destroyer before taking over the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and then achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1995 to 1998: in that capacity he played a key role in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review carried out by the Labour Government that had come to power a year earlier.
Field Marshal Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill, was a British Army officer. After serving with British Army of the Rhine he served with the Commonwealth Brigade in Malaysia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He commanded 12th Light Air Defence Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and later commanded 19th Airportable Brigade. Although he never served as one of the individual service heads, he went on to be Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in the late 1980s and then Chief of the Defence Staff in the aftermath of the Gulf War. He subsequently became Chair of the Military Committee of NATO in the mid-1990s.
Christopher Samuel Tugendhat, Baron Tugendhat, is a British Conservative Party politician, businessman, journalist and author.
Peter Keith Levene, Baron Levene of Portsoken KStJ is a businessman who was chairman of Lloyd's of London from 2003 until 2011 and Lord Mayor of London from 1998 to 1999.
Paul Rudd Drayson, Baron Drayson, is a British businessman, amateur racing driver and Labour politician. He was Minister of Science in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills until May 2010, where he replaced Ian Pearson. In June 2009 he was additionally appointed as Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform at the Ministry of Defence. After losing his ministerial positions in the General Election 2010 he decided to devote himself totally towards his motorsports company Drayson Racing Technology. He is chairman and CEO of Drayson Technologies Ltd.
Norman Roy Blackwell, Baron Blackwell is a British former businessman, public servant, Conservative politician, campaigner and policy advisor.
David Wigley Nickson, Baron Nickson, is a British businessman, a former crossbench peer and a former President of the Confederation of British Industry. He was Chairman of the Clydesdale Bank, Scottish & Newcastle, Scottish Enterprise and the Government's Senior Salaries Review Body.
Denis Tunnicliffe, Baron Tunnicliffe, is a British pilot and railwayman. He is a Labour Life Peer, who has had several roles in the House of Lords ranging from a Government Whip to a Defence Spokesman. He is currently the Opposition Deputy Chief Whip.
Terence Burns, Baron Burns, sometimes known as Terry Burns, is a British economist, made a life peer in 1998 for his services as former Chief Economic Advisor and Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury. He served as Chairman of Ofcom from 2018 to 2020, and is currently a senior adviser to Santander UK, non-executive Chairman of Glas Cymru, and a non-executive director of Pearson Group plc. He is also President of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, President of the Society of Business Economists, ex Chairman of the Governing Body of the Royal Academy of Music, and ex Chairman of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra. On 5 November 2009 he was announced chairman Designate of Channel Four Television Corporation, succeeding Luke Johnson, who retired on 27 January 2010 following six years in the post.
James Stuart Gordon, Baron Gordon of Strathblane, was a Scottish business executive and member of the House of Lords.
Brian Griffiths, Baron Griffiths of Fforestfach, is a British economist, lecturer, and Conservative life peer.
