Archie Norman

Businessman and politician, Archie Norman is the Chairman of Marks & Spencer and former Chairman of ITV. Archie Norman is most notably known for being the only person to have been a FTSE 100 chairman and Member of the House of Commons at the same time. Head of his own equity firm, Archie started his career at an early age as a management consultant, before moving up to become a financial director at Kingfisher.

However, Archie really made his name as the CEO of ASDA, where he turned around what was then a failing supermarket chain and steered it to a successful acquisition by Walmart. During the 1980’s, Archie started a political career by standing as a Conservative candidate in the council elections in Southwark, London. He served two terms as MP for Tunbridge Wells, and was often seen speaking on environmental and transport issues.

It wasn't long before Archie was appointed Chief Executive of the Conservative Party, and thus went on to help form the Policy Exchange think tank with Francis Maude. After leaving parliament, Archie set up number of different business ventures such as Aurigo Management, a private equity firm primarily focused on retail/consumer industries. As well as this he also served a s senior advisor at Lazard and then took over the helm at Energis.

Whilst at Energis, Archie managed to double the value of the business before selling it on to Cable & Wireless.  In 2009, Archie was named the new chairman of ITV, which he presided over for 6 years before stepping down. The impressive turnaround of the company’s fortunes demonstrated the outstanding work that Archie implemented. Archie carried the belief that a company’s potential lies in its people, rather than its figures, and that if you lift employees the bottom line will follow. 

With an Honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University, the incredibly accomplished and leading business expert, Archie Norman, was elected to the Marketing Society Hall of Fame, and has also been voted Retailer of the Year, Yorkshire Businessman of the Year and was awarded the Institute of Turnaround Professional Lifetime Achievement Award.