Sir David Charles Maurice Bell (born 30 September 1946) is a businessman, publisher and philanthropist. He is former Director for People at

Pearson plc Pearson plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s.J. A. Spende ...

and a former Chairman of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' (1996 to 2009). In November 2012 he became Chair of the Syndicate of

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

Background and personal life

Born in

Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. Th ...

, Sir David was educated at

Worth School Worth may refer to: Places In the United States: *Worth, Georgia *Worth County, Georgia *Worth, Illinois *Worth Township, Cook County, Illinois *Worth Township, Woodford County, Illinois *Worth Township, Indiana *Worth Township, Michigan *Worth, ...

. He is an alumnus of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He is married to Primrose, with three children.

Career

Having worked at the ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a success ...

'' (1970 - 1972), Bell became a news editor at the ''

'' in 1978.

Debretts Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John Deb ...

Sir David Bell
/ref> He rose to Managing Editor (1985 - 1989) before moving to the business side, initially as marketing director (1989 - 1993). He became Chief Executive in 1993 and chairman in 1996 until 2009. He was appointed Director for People at Pearson Group in 1998 and Chairman of Pearson in 2003. In November 2012 he became Chair of the Syndicate of

Positions

As Chairman of the UK's Millennium Bridge Trust (1995 to 2002) David Bell signed off London's

Millennium Bridge Several bridges are known as the Millennium Bridge: * in the United Kingdom **Gateshead Millennium Bridge ** Lune Millennium Bridge, Lancaster ** Millennium Bridge, Glasgow ** Millennium Bridge, London ** Millennium Bridge (Salford Quays) ** Teesqua ...

, which he could see from his office window at the FT. He is Chair of the

Media Standards Trust The Media Standards Trust is a British media think tank formed in 2006. It carries out research on issues in the media sector. It also advocates for press freedom as well as industry quality, transparency and accountability. It is a registered cha ...

, which helps to administer the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...

. He is a director of ImagineNations, where he is also Secretary and Treasurer. He is a Governor at

, a Catholic independent school in Sussex. Sir David is Chair of Council at

Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

. Sir David is International Chair of the

Institute for War & Peace Reporting The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent nonprofit organization that claims to train and provide publishing opportunities for professional and citizen journalists. History IWPR was founded in 1991 under the name Yugofax. ...

, iwpr.net. Sir David is also Chairman of

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

. Sir David is a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

Common Purpose UK Common Purpose is a British-founded charity that runs leadership-development programmes around the world. Common Purpose UK is a subsidiary of Common Purpose. Founded in 1989 by Julia Middleton, its aim is to develop leaders who cross bounda ...

. Sir David was chairman of

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

UK for 10 years until 2012. Sir David is an assessor on the

Leveson Inquiry The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of ...

. Sir David Bell has been appointed as the non-executive chair of the steering committee driving the development of the

National Equality Standard The National Equality Standard (NES) is an initiative created by Ernst & Young in 2013. It was developed "for business, by business" and sets clear Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) criteria against which companies are assessed. Their EDI ...

. He is also on the Royal National Theatre Honorary Council.

Honours

Sir David was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

for services to industry, the arts and charity in the Queen's

2004 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2004 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2004 for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Cook IslandsCook Islands list: and elsewhere to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2004. The recipients of honours are d ...

. In 2007, Sir David was awarded an honorary degree from

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, David Living people People educated at Worth School University of Pennsylvania alumni Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Financial Times people Knights Bachelor 1946 births People from Henfield