Lord MacLaurin
| The Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth | |
|---|---|
| Born |
30 March 1937 Blackheath, Kent, United Kingdom |
Ian Charter MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth DL FRSA (born 30 March 1937) is a British businessman who has been chairman of Vodafone and chairman and chief executive of Tesco. He is a former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board and a former Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.
He sits as a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Ian MacLaurin was born in 1937 in Blackheath, Kent. He attended Shrewsbury House School and Malvern College.
MacLaurin joined Tesco in 1959 as a management trainee, then held a number of more senior appointments in its retail operations before being appointed to its Board in 1970. He was appointed managing director in the 1970s and became chairman in 1985.
By the time of his retirement in 1997 Tesco had overtaken Sainsbury's to become the largest UK retailer. MacLaurin led Tesco away from the "pile it high, sell it cheap" business philosophy of founder Jack Cohen. He has claimed his most important act was appointing the right successor, Terry Leahy.
MacLaurin joined Vodafone as a non-executive director in 1997, becoming chairman in July 1998. He stepped down on the merger with AirTouch Communications Inc in 1999, resuming his role a year later.
Upon his retirement from the board in July 2006, he became an adviser to the company. He was succeeded as chairman by Sir John Bond. He also became chairman of the Vodafone Group Foundation, an independent charitable trust set up to administer charitable and other donations on behalf of the company.
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