Roger Carr (businessman) explained

Honorific Prefix:Sir
Roger Carr
Birth Name:Roger Martyn Carr
Birth Date:1946 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK
Nationality:British
Occupation:Businessman
Years Active:1967–present
Chairman, BAE Systems
Term:2014–present
Predecessor:Dick Olver
Successor:Cressida Hogg

Sir Roger Martyn Carr (born 22 December 1946) is a British businessman. He was chairman of BAE Systems until May 2023.

Early life and education

Carr was born and grew up in Nottingham,[1] the son of a car dealer father and ballet teacher mother. After leaving Nottingham High School he worked for Boots as a computer programmer and studied at Trent Polytechnic where he graduated with a BA in Business Studies. He subsequently moved to Honeywell, working on the installation of mainframes in some of Britain's biggest companies.[2]

Career

He has been on the board of eight companies, including BAE Systems, Centrica plc, Mitchells & Butlers, Cadbury plc, Chubb Locks, Thames Water and Williams Holdings.[3]

Carr's first period on a company board began in 1994 when he became CEO of Williams Holdings. In 2000, Williams Holdings demerged into Chubb and Kidde, and Carr became the chairman of Chubb.[4]

In 1998 Carr became chairman of Thames Water, stepping down in 2000.

In 2003 he became the chairman of Mitchells & Butlers, a British company that owns over 2,000 pubs and restaurants. He stepped down as chairman in 2008.[5] He became chairman of Centrica in 2004.

Carr was a senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the American private equity firm, but stepped back in 2008 when KKR considered a takeover bid for Mitchells & Butlers.[6] In 2008, Carr became the chairman of Cadbury plc, the United Kingdom's largest confectionery manufacturer. He resigned on 3 February 2010 when the company was bought by Kraft Foods.[7]

Carr was knighted in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to business.[8]

He was President of the Confederation of British Industry from June 2011.[9] Carr was succeeded in the role by Sir Michael Rake in June 2013.[10] [11]

In June 2013 BAE Systems announced that Carr was to join the board as a non-executive director and chairman designate on 1 October 2013, and that he would succeed Dick Olver as chairman in the first quarter of 2014.[12] He was to relinquish his role as chairman of BAE Systems in May 2023.[13] [14] [15]

In March 2015 it was announced that Carr had been appointed as the vice-chairman of the BBC Trust and would serve on the BBC's governing body for four years.[16]

Carr is the chairman of the English National Ballet. In addition, he is a Vice President of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, a Trustee of Bletchley Park and a Visiting Fellow of Saïd Business School,University of Oxford.[17]

Personal life

Carr is married with one daughter. He owns two homes, one in Kensington, West London and one in the Cotswolds. He earns over £1 million through his combined roles, as of February 2023.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chocolate soldier’s surrender . Andrew . Davidson . www.thetimes.co.uk . 24 January 2010 . subscription . 9 February 2022.
  2. News: Collingridge. John. NED Lifetime Achievement Award: Sir Roger Carr. en. 2021-11-12. 0140-0460.
  3. Web site: The Times & The Sunday Times. 26 October 2017.
  4. News: 1997-02-21. Williams Holdings bids for Chubb - Accountancy Age. en-GB. Accountancy Age. 2018-05-17.
  5. Web site: M&B chairman faces down calls for his resignation. Bowers. Simon. 2008-01-31. The Guardian. en. 2018-11-27.
  6. Web site: 2008-02-24 . Carr bars himself from KKR role . 2023-11-24 . The Telegraph . en.
  7. News: Cadbury top brass quit hours after Kraft take over. The Independent. 2018-11-27. en-GB.
  8. News: 2010-12-31. Business chiefs among new knights. en-GB. BBC News. 2018-11-27.
  9. Andrew Clark "Roger Carr, the new CBI head, promises to make foreign takeovers more difficult", The Observer, 12 December 2010
  10. Ben Harrington "Sir Mike Rake named head of the CBI", Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2013
  11. http://www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2013/06/cbi-welcomes-sir-mike-rake-as-new-president/ "CBI welcomes Sir Mike Rake as new President"
  12. News: Sir Roger Carr named new BAE chairman. Daily Telegraph. Cooper. Rachel. 2013-06-12. 2018-05-17. en-GB. 0307-1235.
  13. Web site: Sir Roger Carr. 26 October 2017. BAE Systems - International.
  14. Web site: Defence contractor BAE Systems kicks off long-term search for successor to chairman. 2021-11-12. Sky News. en.
  15. News: Shah . Oliver . Sir Roger Carr: It took a war to wake us up on defence . en . 2023-04-03 . 0140-0460.
  16. Mark Sweeney "BBC Trust names ex-Radio 4 controller and banker as new trustees", The Guardian, 20 March 2015
  17. Web site: 2018-10-10. Sir Roger Carr. 2021-11-12. English National Ballet. en-GB.