John Makinson CBE (born 10 October 1954) [1] is the Chairman of Kano, a London-based computing company which makes DIY computer and coding kits. [2] He formerly served as chairman of the international publishing company Penguin Random House. He was chairman of The National Theatre from 2010 to 2016.
After being educated at Repton School and completing his degree at Cambridge University, John started working as a journalist, first at Reuters and then at the Financial Times , where he edited the influential "Lex" column. From there he moved to Saatchi and Saatchi's US holding company, before co-founding Makinson Cowell, [3] a specialist independent financial consultancy firm. After five years, he returned to the Financial Times to become its managing director, before accepting a job as the Pearson Group finance director, where he worked until moving to the Penguin Group, a subsidiary of the Pearson Group. [4] He was Chairman and CEO of Penguin Group (worldwide) from 2002 to 2013.
He was a co-chair of the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organisation, for many years. He was also Chairman of the National Theatre from 2010 to 2016.
He is married to actor and activist Nandana Sen, daughter of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Padmashri-awardee Nabaneeta Dev Sen. [5]
He has used his knowledge of business to help compile a report for the British government, called Incentives for Change, and received a CBE in 2001 for his services to public sector productivity. He was also photographed by Harry Borden for the National Portrait Gallery in Britain. [6]
The Financial Times (FT) is a British daily business newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikkei, with core editorial offices across Britain, the United States and continental Europe. In July 2015, Pearson sold the publication to Nikkei for £844 million after owning it since 1957. In 2019, it reported one million paying subscriptions, three-quarters of which were digital subscriptions. The newspaper has a prominent focus on financial journalism and economic analysis rather than generalist reporting, drawing both criticism and acclaim. It sponsors an annual book award and publishes a "Person of the Year" feature.
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann.
Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until 2000 and, for a time, was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2000, the group was acquired by the Publicis Groupe. In 2005 it went private.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is one of the seven co-founders of Infosys, and has previously served as the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief mentor of the company before retiring and taking the title chairman emeritus. As of April 2023, his net worth was estimated to be $4.1 billion, making him the 711th richest person in the world according to Forbes.
Hermann Maria Hauser, KBE, FRS, FREng, FInstP, CPhys is an Austrian entrepreneur, venture capitalist and inventor who is primarily associated with the Cambridge technology community in England.
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initially owning 53% of the joint venture, and Pearson PLC initially owning the remaining 47%. Since 18 December 2019, Penguin Random House has been wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England.
Dorling Kindersley Limited is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel, history, geography, science, space, nature, sports, gardening, cookery and parenting. The worldwide co-CEOs of DK are Paul Kelly and Rebecca Smart. DK has offices in New York, Melbourne, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto, Madrid, Beijing, and Jiangmen. DK works with licensing partners such as Disney, LEGO, DC Comics, the Royal Horticultural Society, MasterChef, and the Smithsonian Institution. DK has commissioned Mary Berry, Monty Don, Robert Winston, Huw Richards, and Steve Mould for a range of books.
Subramanian Ramadorai, CBE was the adviser to the Prime Minister of India in the national council on skill development, Government of India. He held the rank equivalent to an Indian Cabinet Minister. He is also the chairperson of the governing board of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Bharathidasan Institute of Management, chairman of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Guwahati and Tata Elxsi. Earlier, he was CEO and MD of Tata Consultancy Services from 1996 to 2009 & Vice - Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services till 6 October 2014 transforming TCS from a company with $400 million revenues and 6000 employees to one of the world's largest software and services company with more than 200,000 employees working in 42 countries and revenues over US$20.0 billion.
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in addition to leading American literary trends. It was acquired by Random House in 1960, and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group division of Penguin Random House which is owned by the German conglomerate Bertelsmann. The Knopf publishing house is associated with its borzoi colophon, which was designed by co-founder Blanche Knopf in 1925.
Adam Alexander Crozier is a Scottish businessman, and was formerly the chief executive officer of media company ITV plc, operator of the ITV television network covering most of the United Kingdom.
The Royal Society of Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal was instituted in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership to the Royal Society of Arts.
Michael John Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham, was a British hereditary peer and environmentalist.
Nandana Dev Sen is an Indian-born American actress, screenwriter, children's author and child-rights activist. Her first film role in Bollywood was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black (2005), starring Rani Mukherjee and Amitabh Bachchan, in which she played the role of Rani's 17-year-old younger sister.
James Andrew Reed, FCIPD is a British businessman. He is chairman and chief executive of the Reed group of companies. He is the son of Sir Alec Reed, who founded the company in 1960. He is chairman of The Big Give Trust, a match-funding charity supported in part by the Reed Foundation and the Reed family. The Big Give has raised over £233 million for UK-registered charities and aims to raise £1 billion by 2030.
Oliver Brian Sanderson Poole, 1st Baron Poole, was a British Conservative Party politician, soldier and businessman.
Roger George Parry is a media and technology entrepreneur based in the UK. He is chairman of a number of companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange including Oxford Metrics plc and YouGov plc. He is the co-founder of the international marketing communications group MSQ Partners and of the television drama production company Chrysalis Vision. He is a visiting fellow of Oxford University. And is the author of five books and writes extensively on the media and associated topics. He was chairman of the trustees of Shakespeare's Globe theatre for eight years. He is a non-executive member of the board of directors of Uber.
Jeremy Theodorson Sinclair is a British businessman and advertising executive who is a founding director of ad agency M&C Saatchi and in 1970 was one of the founders of Saatchi & Saatchi.
Rita Ann Clifton CBE is a British advertising professional and a former UK Chairman of Interbrand who currently works as a speaker, facilitator, writer, and non-executive director of a portfolio of companies.
Kano Computing is a global computer hardware and software start-up based in London.