Archie Norman

Biography

Born the second of five sons of two doctors, Archie Norman was educated at Charterhouse, the University of Minnesota, Emmanuel College, Cambridge and (after a short period at Citigroup), at Harvard Business School, where he obtained an MBA.

Business career

Norman joined McKinsey & Company on graduation, where William Hague (future British Foreign Secretary) was one of his protégés. He then held directorships at Geest and Railtrack, before becoming group finance director at Britain's then largest retailer, Kingfisher plc at 32. Within five years he was group chief executive of Asda and by 42, he was chairman.

In December 1991, he applied for, and gained the Chief Executive's position at Asda, the only applicant for a near bankrupt business. From 1991 until 1999, Norman was Chief Executive and then Chairman of Asda, the large supermarket chain, and with Allan Leighton, he is credited with turning it around, and making it the second largest in the United Kingdom, before its sale to Wal-Mart in July 1999.

In November 1999, he stepped down from the chain. From the early nineties, Norman was also chairman of The Children's Trust, and in 1998, he was succeeded by Sir Brian Hill.

Political career

During the 1980s, Norman stood unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate in council elections in Southwark, London.

In 1996, on the advice of Francis Maude, Norman decided to apply for the Conservative safe seat of Tunbridge Wells, soon to be vacated by Sir Patrick Mayhew. Norman was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells in England, in the 1997 General Election, with a majority of 7,506. In December 1996, Labour warned voting for Norman would be short changed, as he believed that being an MP was not a full-time job.

After the heavy Conservative defeat in the 1997 Election, Norman supported William Hague's bid for leadership, becoming Chief Executive of the Conservative Party, and then served as a shadow minister for the environment in 1999. A year later, he was promoted to the Conservative frontbench as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions, where he was up against John Prescott on the Labour front bench.

In September 2001, after leaving the Shadow Cabinet, he founded the think tank Policy Exchange with Francis Maude. In July 2002, Norman became Chairman of Energis, having led a consortium of banks in the purchase and refinancing of the United Kingdom arm of Energis Plc from the administrators. In October 2004, he announced his intention to step down as MP of Tunbridge Wells in the next general election, as he wished to pursue other interests.

In December 2004, Greg Clark, who later became his successor, was chosen as an candidate to succeed him by the Conservative Party. In May 2005, he officially stood down as MP in the general election. In October 2016, Norman was appointed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as its Lead Non Executive Board Member.

Return to business

On leaving Parliament, Norman set up Aurigo Management, a private equity firm primarily focussed on retail/consumer industries. In February 2004, he showed interest in becoming the chairman of Sainsbury's. In June 2005, he denied plans into taking over the helm of Morrisons. In July 2007, Aurigo bought tool hire retailer HSS Hire for £310 million, from 3i. In November 2007, Norman advised Wesfarmers on the acquisition of Coles Group, and has since overseen the turnaround of Coles in Australia.

On 18 November 2009, Norman was named as the new chairman of ITV plc. In January 2016, it was announced he was to step down as chairman after six years. In July 2013, Lazard appointed him as its London chairman, as the firm worked on the privatisation of the Royal Mail. In December 2013, he was appointed chairman of Hobbycraft, replacing Simon Burke. In February 2015, he was linked into becoming the chief executive of Tesco.

In June 2016, it was announced that Norman was to advise on the turnaround of Homebase under its new owners Wesfarmers, who purchased the business in January 2016. In November 2016, he ruled himself out in being the next chairman for the BBC, and it was said he was “very unlikely” to apply. In March 2017, he was approached to become the next chairman for Marks & Spencer. He was previously asked to take over the firm in May 2004.

On 5 May 2017, it was announced Norman would succeed Robert Swannell as chairman of Marks & Spencer in September 2017.

Other

He is on the Board of the NIESR, has an Honorary Degree from Leeds Metropolitan University, was a Director of the Judge Institute, has been elected to the Marketing Society Hall of Fame, and been voted Retailer of the Year and Yorkshire Businessman of the Year. In December 2010, he was granted the Institute of Turnaround Professional Lifetime Achievement Award. In June 2015, he teamed up with The X Factor host Simon Cowell in launching a new show, entitled The F Factor.

Personal life

Married with one daughter, he has homes in Yorkshire, London, Switzerland, and the small island of Lismore on the west coast of Scotland. His interests include farming, opera, fishing and tennis. He infamously bought only a pied-à-terre in Tunbridge Wells whist MP.

In July 2004, The Independent reported he owned a REVA G-Wiz to commute around London, and outside London, he drove a Volkswagen Golf.