- Eddie Thompson
Infobox Celebrity
name = Eddie Thompson
imagesize =
caption =
birth_date = birth year and age|1940
birth_place =Glasgow ,Scotland
death_date =
death_place =
occupation =Dundee United F.C. chairman
salary =
networth = gain £30 million
spouse =
children =
website =
footnotes =Edward Thompson, OBE (born 1940) is the chairman of Scottish football club Dundee United and a well known figure in the Scottish
retail industry.Business career
Born in
Glasgow , where he attendedHyndland Secondary School , Thompson qualified as an accountant prior to working in managerial positions forDundee -based Watson & Philip, owners of the VG chain ofconvenience store s. In 1991 he left them to become founder and chief executive of a similar chain called Morning, Noon & Night. He continued to run the company until selling it toScotmid in 2004 for £30m.cite news|url=http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2004/08/03/story6182386t0.shtm|title=Dundee firm sold for £30 million|publisher=Evening Telegraph|date=2004-08-03]He was awarded the OBE in June 2005, in recognition of his services to the Scottish grocery industry and his work as chairman of the
Scottish Retail Consortium . As well as the SRC, he has also served on the board of the CBI Council for Scotland , theBritish Retail Consortium and theScottish Grocers' Federation . He has also been a recipient of the Scottish Grocery Lifetime Achievement Award.In football
A supporter of Dundee United since moving to the Dundee area, Thompson has had a lengthy association with the club. He instigated their first ever shirt sponsorship deal, with VG, in the 1980s. He was appointed the club's honorary business consultant but subsequently became estranged from the club's management after falling out with manager and chairman
Jim McLean . Thompson spent many years trying to invest the club, being constantly rebuffed until finally assuming control of Dundee United in September 2002 when he bought McLean's shareholding.Since then he has invested large sums of money in the team, but so far with limited success. Thompson has gained a reputation as a ruthless chairman, having sacked four managers in less than four years in charge. He has continued to take charge of club affairs personally, despite having been diagnosed with
prostate cancer in 2003.Thompson currently serves as a member of the
Scottish Premier League management board. His son Stephen works alongside him as a director of Dundee United.References
External links
* [http://www.sundayherald.com/54646 "One eye on the future"] : Interview from the [http://www.sundayherald.com "Sunday Herald"]
* [http://www.brc.org.uk/srcdetails04.asp?id=653 News story and biography] from Scottish Retail Consortium website
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.