Keith Williams | |
---|---|
Born | Teesside, England | 13 May 1956
Alma mater | University of Liverpool |
Occupation | Businessman |
Employer(s) | Halfords Royal Mail |
Known for | Royal Mail (2018–present) Halfords (2018–present) British Airways (2011–2016) John Lewis (until 2019) |
Title | Chairman of Halfords and Royal Mail |
Keith Williams CBE (born 13 May 1956) [1] is a British businessman who has been chairman of Halfords and Royal Mail since 2018. He was chief executive officer (CEO) of British Airways from 2011 to 2016.
Williams was born in Teesside, England, [2] attended Guisborough Grammar School, [1] and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Liverpool. [3]
Williams spent his early career with Boots, Apple Inc., and Reckitt and Colman. [4]
In 1998, Williams left Reckitt and Colman, and joined British Airways, rising to CEO in 2011, and then chairman. [2] [5] [6] In April 2016, he was succeeded by Álex Cruz as chairman. [6]
Williams has been a non-executive director and deputy chairman of John Lewis, and a non-executive director of Aviva until May 2019. [4] [7]
Williams has been the chairman of Halfords since July 2018. [4]
In May 2019, Williams, then deputy chairman, and a board member since January 2018, succeeded Les Owen as chairman of Royal Mail. [7]
In May 2020, Rico Back resigned as CEO of Royal Mail with immediate effect, and Williams, the chairman, replaced him as executive chairman. [5] [8]
Williams is the independent chair of the Government-supported Rail Review. [4]
In 2019, Williams was awarded an honorary doctorate by Teesside University. [2] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to the railway industry. [9]
Williams is married and has a son and a daughter. [1]
Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels). Formed in 2001, the company used the name Consignia for a brief period but changed it soon afterwards. Prior to this date, Royal Mail and Parcelforce were part of the Post Office, a UK state-owned enterprise the history of which is summarised below. Long before it came to be a company name, the 'Royal Mail' brand had been used by the General Post Office to identify its distribution network.
Reckitt Benckiser is a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom, and Hoofddorp, Netherlands. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in 1999 by the merger of British company Reckitt & Colman plc and Dutch company Benckiser N.V.
Ursula M. Burns is an American businesswoman. Burns is known for her tenure as the CEO of Xerox from 2009 to 2016. In this role, Burns was the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. She is also the first woman to follow another as the head of a Fortune 500 company. Burns remained the chairman at Xerox from 2010 to 2017.
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The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, and Pakistan to celebrate the past year and mark the beginning of 1952.
The New Year Honours 1970 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the London Gazette of 30 December 1969 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1970.
The New Year Honours 1971 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the London Gazette of 31 December 1970 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1971.
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1956 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen.
The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the British Empire, Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, and Pakistan.
The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplements to the London Gazette of 6 June 1969.
The 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplements to The London Gazette of 4 June 1971 for the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, and Fiji.
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Álex Cruz de Llano is a Spanish businessman who is known as the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of British Airways and former CEO of Vueling.
A number of politicians, public figures, newspapers and magazines, businesses and other organisations endorsed either the United Kingdom remaining in the EU or the United Kingdom leaving the EU during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.
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