Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell

Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell (born 5 October 1955, Ipswich) is a British businessman, academic and chair of the Financial Services Authority. He was formerly chair of the Pensions Commission. He has described himself in a BBC HARDtalk interview with Stephen Sackur as a 'technocrat'.

Early life

He grew up in Crawley and East Kilbride (both new towns - his father Geoffrey was a University of Liverpool-educated town planner), and initially attended Hutchesons' Grammar School, then moved to Argyll. He attended Glenalmond College and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in History and Economics and became President of the Cambridge Union. He was also Chairman of the University's Conservative Association. He joined the SDP in 1981.

Business career

He taught economics part time after university. Turner later pursued a career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co and then became Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from 1995-9.

His career with BP started in 1979 and he worked for Chase Manhattan Bank from 1979-82 before he became a director of McKinsey & Co in 1994 (after joining in 1982). [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/491053.stm BBC News | Talking Point | Adair Turner answers your questions ] ] From 2000-06 he was Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe [ [http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/About/Who/board/turner.shtml Biography of Lord Adair Turner] ] .

He lectures part time at the London School of Economics.

Since 2002, he has chaired a UK government enquiry into pensions. In 2007, he succeeded Frances Cairncross as Chairman of the Economic and Social Research Council and Baroness Jay as Chair of the Overseas Development Institute's Council.

In 2008 he was appointed Chairman of the UK Government's nascent Committee on Climate Change.

On 29 May 2008, it was announced that he would take over as Chairman of the Financial Services Authority [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4029748.ece Lord Turner confirmed chairman of FSA in its hour of need] ] . He took up this post in September 2008 for a five year term to succeed, Callum McCarthy.

Honoured

On 7 September 2005 he was created a life peer as Baron Turner of Ecchinswell. Ecchinswell is in the County of Hampshire, and his award in recognition of his public service to the nation (he has a cottage in Ecchinswell).

Personal life

In 1985 he married Orna Ni-Chionna, whom he met at McKinsey. She comes from Ireland, and was born c. 1956. She is now [http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/Aboutus/council.html Chair] of the council of the Soil Association and a non-executive director of Northern Foods. They have two daughters (born November 1988 and September 1991), and live in Kensington, London, UK.

References

External links

* [http://www.webarchive.org.uk/pan/16806/20070802/www.pensionscommission.org.uk/about/at.html Biography of Adair Turner at the former Pensions Commission]
* [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/minutes/051012/ldminute.htm Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords] House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 12 October 2005
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article745472.ece "Times" profile 4 December 2005]
* [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/pensions/article596472.ece "Times" article 25 November 2005]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/nov/25/turnerreport.politics1 "Guardian" profile 25 November 2005]
* [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-3269297-details/Pensions+supremo+Turner+is+chasing+an+elusive+prize/article.do "Evening Standard" profile 7 February 2003]