Archie Norman

Infobox Person
name = Archibald John Norman

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image_size = 150px
caption = English businessman
birth_date = Birth date and age|1954|5|1|mf=y
birth_place =
residence =
nationality = British
known_for = Kingfisher plc
Asda
MP for Tunbridge Wells
education = Charterhouse School
University of Minnesota
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Harvard Business School
networth =
spouse = Married
children = 1 daughter
website =
footnotes =

Archibald John Norman (born 1 May 1954) is a British businessman and politician. He is presently the first and only FTSE 100 chairman to have sat in the House of Commons.

Biography

The second of five children of two doctors,citeweb|url=http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/channel/Leadership/news/735030/exclusive-mt-interview-archie-norman/|title=Exclusive MT interview: Archie Norman|publisher=Management Today|date=3rd September, 2007|accessdate=2008-04-06] Norman was educated at Charterhouse School, the University of Minnesota, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and after a short period at Citigroup a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. [citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5130300.stm|title=If anyone understands the perils of modernising the Conservative Party it is Archie Norman|publisher=BBC News|date=14 July 2006|accessdate=2008-04-06]

Business career

Norman joined McKinsey & Company on graduation, where William Hague was one of his protégés.citeweb|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/mar/20/profiles.parliament|title=Archie Norman|publisher=The Guardian|date=March 20 2001|accessdate=2008-04-06] He then held directorships at Geest and Railtrack, before becoming group finance director at then Britain's largest retailer, Kingfisher plc at 32. Within five years, he was group chief executive and by 42 he was chairman, earning £3 million a year.

Tired of waiting for the retirement of Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, he applied for and gained the Chief Executive's position at Asda - the only applicant for a near bankrupt business.citeweb|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/jun/11/theobserver.observerbusiness3|title=Norman to the rescue - again|publisher=The Guardian|date=June 11, 2006|accessdate=2008-04-06] From 1991 until 2000, Norman was Chief Executive and then Chairman of Asda, the large supermarket chain, and with cohort Allan Leighton is credited with turning it around and making it the second largest in the UK, before its sale to Wal-Mart in June 1999.

Political career

Having helped form the think tank Policy Exchange, in 1996 on the advice of Francis Maude, Norman decided to apply for the Conservative-safe seat of Tunbridge Wells, soon to be vacated by Sir Patrick Mayhew. Norman was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells in England, in the 1997 general election, but with a halved majority of 7,506.

After the heavy defeat in the 1997 election, Norman supported William Hague's bid for leadership, becoming Party Chairman and then serving as a shadow minister for the environment from 1999 until 2001. Norman's promotion to the Tory frontbench as shadow environment secretary in 2000 was not a success, seen as stumbling and inarticulate, though undoubtedly bright: "Just because Asda checkout girls smile at him, he thinks he's got the common touch," joked Lord Parkinson.

Although he survived the reshuffle after the failure of Hague, his long term intentions were clear when in 2002 he joined Energis as Chairman having led a consortium of banks in the purchase and refinance of the UK arm from the administrators of Energis Plc. He stood down as MP at the May 2005 general election.

Return to business

Norman now runs Aurigo Management, a private equity firm primarily focussed on the retail/consumer space. Key executives include Paul Sagoo, his colleague from Energis. In July 2007, after failed bids for fitness chain Esporta and mobile phone retailer Phones 4U, Aurigo bought tool hire retailer HSS Hire for £310million, from 3i. [citeweb|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article1926316.ece|title=Archie Norman agrees to buy HSS for £310 million|publisher=The Times|date=June 13, 2007|accessdate=2008-04-06]

Personal life

Married with one daughter, he has homes in Yorkshire, London and Switzerland - infamously buying only a pied-à-terre in Tunbridge Wells while MP. His interests include farming, opera, music, fishing, skiing and tennis.

References