Allan Leighton Explained

Allan Leighton
Birth Date:1953 4, df=y
Birth Place:Hereford, England
Known For:Asda (former CEO)
Royal Mail (former chairman)
Pandora (former chairman)
Loblaw Companies (President)
Education:Magdalen College School
Oxford Polytechnic
Children:3

Allan Leighton (born 12 April 1953) is a British businessman, former chairman of The Co-operative Group, former CEO of Asda, former chief executive of Pandora, and former non-executive chairman of the Royal Mail. He is also the co-owner of Brackley Town.

Biography

Allan Leighton was born on 12 April 1953 in Hereford, the son of a Co-op shop manager, and raised in Oxford. He thought about becoming a professional footballer, but broke his leg in six places aged 15.[1]

He supports Leeds United, where he was deputy chairman, Saracens rugby team, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team.[2]

Career

Leighton joined Lloyds Bank as a cashier in 1972. He left to join Mars UK in Slough as a salesman in 1974 and worked at the company for eighteen years, where his colleagues included Justin King, David Cheesewright and Richard Baker. He was appointed General Sales Manager for the UK Grocery Division in 1987 (the youngest director in the company worldwide),[1] and subsequently, managing director of Mars in Ireland and Portugal.[3]

Leighton says he owes a lot to the Mars brothers, who gave him the practical basis for much of what he did at Asda: they would fly economy, hire a car and inspect a factory without warning before management arrived, talking to workers to get a sense of what was going on.[4]

Leaving Mars as marketing and sales director for Pedigree Petfoods, he joined Archie Norman's management team at Asda as marketing director in March 1992. He attended Harvard University's six-week Advanced Management Program.[5]

In 1999, it was reported that an £18bn merger would happen between Asda and Kingfisher plc, which would see Leighton become deputy chief executive of the enlarged group.[6] However, the merger fell through and the company was sold to the US-based Wal-Mart for £6.2 billion in the same year.[7]

Leighton held several non-executive roles while still at Asda including Deputy Chairman of Leeds United Football Club from 1999 to 2003.[8] After leaving Asda in 2000, he was chairman of Business in the Community from 2000 to 2008,[9] chairman of Lastminute.com from 2000 to 2004 and chairman of the Royal Mail from 2002 to 2008.[10] [11]

Leighton received a £3.4 million payoff from his previous employers Pandora, where he was chief executive from July 2013 to August 2014.[12]

In February 2015, The Co-operative Group appointed Leighton as its new independent non-executive chairman, he became the first independent chairman for the business.[13] Leighton was succeeded as Co-op chair by former Sodexo boss Debbie White in February 2024 after a nine year term.[14]

Leighton's later roles included chairman of Simba Sleep from August 2018,[15] and chairman at BrewDog from September 2021.[16] He also served as a non-executive director at Dyson,[17] BSkyB[18] and Scottish Power.[19]

Awards and nominations

In 2010, the University of Central Lancashire awarded him an honorary fellowship, in recognition of his achievements.[20]

Publications

Support for Charity

Leighton took part in the 2008 London Marathon to raise money for Breast Cancer Care,[23] a charity to which he pledges all his earnings from television, speeches and his book "On Leadership".[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Allan Leighton . https://web.archive.org/web/20081205095240/http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/492390/mt-interview-allan-leighton/ . dead . 5 December 2008 . Management Today . 25 August 2005 . 5 April 2008 .
  2. News: 5 April 2008. Allan Leighton keeps running. The Sunday Times. London. 5 April 2008.
  3. Web site: October 2000. Allan Leighton Appointed Chairman of lastminute.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071223153731/http://cws.huginonline.com/L/131840/PR/200010/874328_5_2.html. 23 December 2007. 5 April 2008. Lastminute.com.
  4. News: Singular skill of a man who relished going plural. The Guardian. 1 June 2007. 5 April 2008 . London . David . Teather.
  5. Web site: Beer. Michael. Weber. James. 1999-06-01. ASDA: Allan Leighton with the Advanced Program, May 31, 1997. en-us.
  6. News: Cowe. Roger. 1999-04-19. Kingfisher and Asda shrug off rival deal. en-GB. The Guardian. 2020-11-02. 0261-3077.
  7. Web site: Profile: Allan Leighton. BBC News. 4 December 2003. 5 April 2008.
  8. Web site: 2004-08-08. Don't touch football with a barge-pole, says ex-Leeds boss. 2020-11-02. The Independent. en.
  9. Web site: Allan Leighton . Business in the Community . 5 April 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071215231916/http://www.bitc.org.uk/who_we_are/our_board_and_governance/board_of_trustee_directors/allan_leighton.html . 15 December 2007 . dead .
  10. Web site: Royal Mail chairman Leighton to step down. 2020-11-02. www.campaignlive.co.uk.
  11. News: Another three years in post for head of Royal Mail. The Daily Telegraph. 10 December 2004. 15 April 2017.
  12. News: 28 August 2014. Pandora CEO Leighton Steps Down After a Year at Helm. Bloomberg.com. subscription. 15 April 2017. Bloomberg L.P..
  13. Web site: 19 February 2015. Allan Leighton to get £3.4m payoff from jewellery brand Pandora. 15 April 2017. The Guardian.
  14. News: The Co-operative Group appoints Debbie White as new Chair Designate. 13 July 2023. The Cooperative Society. 31 May 2024.
  15. Web site: Allan Leslie Leighton, Simba Sleep Ltd: Profile and Biography. 2020-11-02. Bloomberg.com. en.
  16. Web site: BrewDog hires former Asda boss to tackle 'toxic' culture. 13 September 2021.
  17. Web site: Former Asda chief joins Dyson board. 2020-11-02. www.campaignlive.co.uk.
  18. News: Gow. David. 2003-11-07. The Guardian profile: Allan Leighton. en-GB. The Guardian. 2020-11-02. 0261-3077.
  19. Web site: Allan leighton. Business Week. 5 April 2008.
  20. Yorkshire Post, 10 September 2013 (not online).
  21. Web site: "On Leadership" Allan Leighton. Professional Ghost. 13 August 2014.
  22. Web site: Teena Lyons. 14 February 2017.
  23. Web site: Results Search. www.marathonguide.com.