John Allan (businessman)

John Murray Allan CBE (born 20 August 1948) is a British businessman. He previously served as president and vice president of the Confederation of British Industry, and is a former chair of the supermarket chain Tesco and current chair of the housebuilder Barratt Developments.[4]

John Allan
Born
John Murray Allan

20 August 1948 (1948-08-20) (age 76)
EducationUniversity of Edinburgh
Alma materSt Andrew’s High School, Kirkcaldy
OccupationBusinessman
Title
SpouseCarole
Children2

Early life

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John Murray Allan was born on 20 August 1948.[5][6] Allan attended St Andrew’s High School in Kirkcaldy, and studied mathematics at University of Edinburgh.[7]

Career

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Allan's experience spans retail, logistics and housebuilding. He was chief executive of Exel,[8] chief financial officer of Deutsche Post,[8] deputy chairman of retailer Dixons Carphone and a non-executive director at Royal Mail. He was also previously chairman of Samsonite and he has been a non-executive director at National Grid, PHS Group and Hamleys. Allan was noted as an instrumental figure in the £3.7 billion merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse.[9][10]

In February 2011, Home Secretary Theresa May announced that Allan would join the Home Office as a non-executive member of its supervisory board in an attempt to bring business experience into the government department.[11]

Allan was elected as president of the CBI on 19 June 2018, and was elected for a second term at the 18 June 2019 annual general meeting of members. Allan was succeeded by Lord Karan Bilimoria as president of the organisation on 16 June 2020, and served as vice president from then until stepping down from the board on 21 October 2021.

Allan took over as chair of Tesco from Sir Richard Broadbent in March 2015. In May 2023 Allan announced he would step down as chairman of the board in June 2023 after admitting making a comment to a female CBI worker in late 2019 about a dress suiting her figure.[12] He was set to continue as chairman of the housebuilder Barratt Developments[13] until September 2023[14] but on 23 May, Allan said he would be "stepping down as chairman of Barratt Developments plc as of 30 June 2023".[15]

References

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  1. ^ Butler, Sarah (17 February 2015). "Tesco announces John Allan as new chairman". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Housebuilder Barratt appoints John Allan as chairman designate". Reuters. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  3. ^ "CBI welcomes John Allan as new President". CBI. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ^ "CBI boss: Settle Brexit or hold referendum". 11 April 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Allan, John Murray". WHO'S WHO 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Tesco plc". Companies House. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Here's everything we know about Tesco's new chairman, John Allan". City AM. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b Stubbington, Tommy. "CBI's John Allan: 'MPs who attack us are juvenile and outrageous'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  9. ^ "What you need to know about John Allan, the new Tesco chairman". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  10. ^ Davey, James. "Dixons and Carphone agree 3.8 billion pound retail merger". U.K. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Two new non-executive members of Home Office supervisory board announced". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  12. ^ Jordan, Dearbail (19 May 2023). "Tesco chairman John Allan to quit after claims over behaviour". Sky News. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ^ Butler, Sarah (17 February 2015). "Tesco announces John Allan as new chairman". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  14. ^ Brown, Carl (22 May 2023). "Barratt chair at centre of CBI misconduct claims will remain in post until September as planned". Building. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  15. ^ Partridge, Joanna (23 May 2023). "John Allan to step down as Barratt chair amid 'disruptive' allegations". Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2023.