Marjorie Scardino Explained

Honorific Prefix:Dame
Marjorie Scardino
Birth Name:Marjorie Morris
Birth Date:25 January 1947
Birth Place:Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.[1]
Citizenship:British
Alma Mater:Baylor University
Employer:Pearson PLC
Occupation:Chief executive
Spouse:Albert Scardino
Children:3, including Hal Scardino

Dame Marjorie Scardino,, FRSA (Morris; born 25 January 1947) is an American-born British business executive. She is the former CEO of Pearson PLC. Scardino became a trustee of Oxfam during her tenure at Pearson.[2]

She was criticized by Private Eye magazine because, while Oxfam campaigns against corporate tax avoidance as part of the IF Coalition, Pearson was "a prolific tax haven user ... routing hundreds of millions of pounds through an elaborate series of Luxembourg companies (and a Luxembourg branch of a UK company) to avoid tax".[3] [4] [5] She became the first female Chief Executive of a FTSE 100 company when she was appointed CEO of Pearson[6] in 1997. She is also a non-executive director of Nokia and former CEO of the Economist Group.[7] [8] During her time at Pearson, Pearson's profits tripled, to a record £942m.[9]

In December 2013, she joined the board of Twitter as its first female director, after a controversy involving a lack of diversity on the Twitter board.[10] [11]

Early life and education

Scardino was born in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1947, and grew up in Texarkana, Texas. While living in Texas she participated in rodeo riding as a teenager.[12] Scardino is a graduate of Baylor University with a B..A in French and psychology in 1969. She began law school at George Washington University but dropped out to become a journalist at Associated Press in Charleston, West Virginia, and later obtained her J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Career

Before 1985, Scardino was the publisher of The Georgia Gazette.

She is the board chair[13] of the MacArthur Foundation and a board member of the Carter Center.[14] She is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[15] She also won the 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal.[16]

In 2007, she was listed 17th on the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the World.[17]

On October 3, 2012, it was announced that she will step down as CEO of Pearson to be replaced by John Fallon.[18] [19]

In December 2013, she joined the board of Twitter[10] as its first female director, after a controversy involving a lack of diversity on the Twitter board.[11]

Personal life

Scardino is married to Albert Scardino,[8] whom she worked with during her time at The Georgia Gazette and later a media reporter for The New York Times. She has three children, Adelaide, Will and Hal (producer and former child actor).

Although she was born in the United States, she has taken British citizenship.[20]

Awards and honors

Marjorie Scardino received an Honorary Doctorate from Brunel University in 1999 for her role as CEO of Pearson plc.[21]

Scardino received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2001 [22]

Scardino's contributions to the British media were recognized when she was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in February 2002, one month after she had adopted British citizenship.

In 2014, Scardino received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Roehampton.[23]

Notes and References

  1. News: Can Marje stay in charge?. Doward. Jamie. 9 March 2003. The Observer. 6 May 2010.
  2. Web site: Oxfam's CEO, Directors and Trustees Oxfam GB. Oxfam GB. en. 25 November 2017.
  3. Web site: The IF Coalition Enough Food IF. 12 September 2014. 25 November 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140912182903/http://enoughfoodif.org/who-we-are. 12 September 2014.
  4. Web site: INVISIBLE MONEY 2: VOYAGE TO LUXEMBOURG - Ground Report. groundreport.com. en-US. 25 November 2017.
  5. P5, no 1374, 5–18 September 2014, Private Eye.
  6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/keyevents_print.shtml?1990 BBC female achievements timeline
  7. Web site: Board of Directors. Nokia. 15 June 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110219010720/http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/corporate-governance/board-of-directors/dame-marjorie-scardino. 19 February 2011.
  8. Web site: Yankee Expansionist Builds British Empire. Fortune. Laura. Colby. 16 March 1998. 15 June 2010.
  9. Web site: BBC News - Pearson: Marjorie Scardino steps down as chief executive. bbc.co.uk. 15 November 2012.
  10. Web site: Thank you.. Twitter. 5 December 2013.
  11. Web site: Curtain Is Rising on a Tech Premiere With (as Usual) a Mostly Male Cast. . 4 October 2013.
  12. Book: Publishing . DK . 1000 CEOs . Penguin . 2009 . 218 . 2013-12-05 . 978-0756670573.
  13. Web site: Marjorie Scardino Elected to Chair MacArthur Foundation Board of Directors. MacArthur Foundation. 8 September 2014.
  14. Web site: Management Team - Marjorie Scardino: Chief executive. Pearson PLC. 15 June 2010.
  15. News: British business people: The top 1,000: Media and entertainment 20 to 1. The Daily Telegraph. Andrew. Cave. 24 February 2008. 17 June 2010.
  16. Web site: The Benjamin Franklin Medal . . 15 June 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110608192650/http://www.thersa.org/about-us/history-and-archive/medals/benjamin-franklin-medal . 8 June 2011 .
  17. https://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/11/biz-07women_Marjorie-Scardino_MCY3.html
    1. 17 Marjorie Scardino
  18. Web site: John Fallon to succeed Marjorie Scardino as Pearson's chief executive. pearson.com. 15 November 2012.
  19. News: Scardino, Chief of Pearson, to Step Down - NYTimes.com. The New York Times. . 0362-4331 . 20 November 2012.
  20. Web site: Marjorie Scardino. Businesswings. 15 June 2010.
  21. Web site: www.brunel.ac.uk . 1999 . Honorary Graduates .
  22. Web site: Heriot-Watt University . www1.hw.ac.uk . 2016-03-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160413114505/http://www1.hw.ac.uk/annual-review/2001/our_peo_hon_grad.htm . 2016-04-13 .
  23. Web site: Twitter director Marjorie Scardino awarded honorary doctorate. University of Roehampton. 8 September 2014.