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Allan Leighton

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Allan Leighton
Leighton in 2007
Born (1953-04-12) 12 April 1953 (age 71)
Hereford, England
EducationMagdalen College School
Oxford Polytechnic
Known forAsda (Chair and former CEO)
Royal Mail (former chairman)
Pandora (former chairman)
Loblaw Companies (President)
Children3

Allan Leighton (born 12 April 1953) is a British businessman, Chair of Asda, 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 prior to the breaking of the Horizon Scandal. He is also the co-owner of Brackley Town F.C.[1]

Biography

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Allan Leighton was born on 12 April 1953 in Hereford,[2] 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.[3]

He supports Leeds United, where he was deputy chairman, Saracens rugby team, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team.[4]

Career

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Leighton joined Lloyds Bank as a cashier in 1972. He left to join Mars UK in Slough as a salesman in 1974[5] 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),[3] and subsequently, managing director of Mars in Ireland and Portugal.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] However, the merger fell through and the company was sold to the US-based Wal-Mart for £6.2 billion in the same year.[10]

Leighton held several non-executive roles while still at Asda including Deputy Chairman of Leeds United Football Club from 1999 to 2003.[11] After leaving Asda in 2000, he was chairman of Business in the Community from 2000 to 2008,[5] and chairman of Lastminute.com from 2000 to 2004.[6]

Leighton was Chair of Royal Mail Holdings and Post Office Ltd from 2002 to 2009.[12][13] Duly he was called to give evidence at the Post Office Enquiry into the Horizon Scandal in July 2024.[14][15][16]

In 2008 Leighton was appointed president and deputy chairman of Loblaw, the Canadian retail giant and worked alongside the Weston Family.[17]

Leighton received a £3.4 million payoff from his previous employers Pandora, where he was chief executive from July 2013 to August 2014.[18]

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.[19] Leighton was succeeded as Co-op chair by former Sodexo boss Debbie White in February 2024 after a nine year term.[20]

Leighton's later roles included chairman of Simba Sleep from August 2018,[21] chairman of C&A from 2020,[22] and chairman at BrewDog from September 2021.[23] He also served as a non-executive director at Dyson,[24] BSkyB[2] and Scottish Power.[25]

In November 2024, Leighton was appointed Executive Chairman of Asda, returning to the business after 24 years.[26]

Awards and nominations

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In 2010, the University of Central Lancashire awarded him an honorary fellowship, in recognition of his achievements.[27]

Publications

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  • On Leadership (2008) Ghostwritten by Teena Lyons.[28]
  • Tough Calls (2012) Ghostwritten by Teena Lyons.[29]

Support for Charity

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Leighton took part in the 2008 London Marathon to raise money for Breast Cancer Care,[30] a charity to which he pledges all his earnings from television, speeches and his book "On Leadership".[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Who's Who 2024-2025". www.brackleytownfc.com. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Gow, David (7 November 2003). "The Guardian profile: Allan Leighton". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Allan Leighton". Management Today. 25 August 2005. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Allan Leighton keeps running". The Sunday Times. London. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Allan Leighton". Business in the Community. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Allan Leighton Appointed Chairman of lastminute.com". Lastminute.com. October 2000. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  7. ^ Teather, David (1 June 2007). "Singular skill of a man who relished going plural". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  8. ^ Beer, Michael; Weber, James (1 June 1999). "ASDA: Allan Leighton with the Advanced Managment [sic] Program, May 31, 1997".
  9. ^ Cowe, Roger (19 April 1999). "Kingfisher and Asda shrug off rival deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Profile: Allan Leighton". BBC News. 4 December 2003. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  11. ^ "Don't touch football with a barge-pole, says ex-Leeds boss". The Independent. 8 August 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Royal Mail chairman Leighton to step down". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Another three years in post for head of Royal Mail". The Daily Telegraph. 10 December 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  14. ^ Foster, Peter; O’Dwyer, Michael (14 January 2024). "The City grandees who let the Post Office fight to the bitter end". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Phase 5/6 - 26 July 2024". Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  16. ^ Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry (26 July 2024). Allan Leighton - Martin Edwards - Day 172 AM (26 July 2024) - Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. Retrieved 25 November 2024 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Strauss, Marina (January 26, 2007). "Memories of excellence". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  18. ^ "Pandora CEO Leighton Steps Down After a Year at Helm". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  19. ^ "Allan Leighton to get £3.4m payoff from jewellery brand Pandora". The Guardian. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  20. ^ "The Co-operative Group appoints Debbie White as new Chair Designate". The Cooperative Society. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Allan Leslie Leighton, Simba Sleep Ltd: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  22. ^ Eley, Jonathan (10 September 2019). "Allan Leighton appointed chairman of C&A". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  23. ^ "BrewDog hires former Asda boss to tackle 'toxic' culture". 13 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Former Asda chief joins Dyson board". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Allan leighton". Business Week. Retrieved 5 April 2008.[dead link‍]
  26. ^ Leyland2024-11-23T13:44:00+00:00, Adam. "Asda goes 'back to the future with modernity' as Allan Leighton returns". The Grocer. Retrieved 23 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Yorkshire Post, 10 September 2013 (not online).
  28. ^ ""On Leadership" Allan Leighton". Professional Ghost. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  29. ^ "Teena Lyons". 14 February 2017.
  30. ^ "Results Search". www.marathonguide.com.
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