Allan Leighton
Article & Interview by Ninder Johal
The man who coined the phrase ‘going plural’ and a diary full of commitments to match was a hard man to pin down for an interview. With a list as long as your arm of high-profile roles (past and present) including CEO of Asda, Chair of the Royal Mail, Chair of Last Minute.com, Pizza Express, Canal and River Trust, the Co-op, ex Chair of Wagamama, NED (Non-Executive Director) roles at BskyB, and Dyson and now chair of BrewDog – he is known in the City as the ultimate ‘blue chip man’.
At sixteen, his interests lay in sport and a quest to be a professional footballer, but a serious injury put paid to that ambition. He came across Mars (the confectionary giant) and enlisted on their management programme. He stayed there for eighteen years and argues that they were the most instrumental years in his career for learning.
Is it essential to be a good salesman to be an effective executive or entrepreneur?
‘At Mars – I worked ...
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