Eric Luciano Nicoli,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 5 August 1950) is a British businessman who has been the Chairman of Centtrip since 2015. He was Chairman of

YO! Sushi YO! Sushi is a company that owns, operates, and franchises conveyor belt sushi restaurants, principally in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Australia. History YO! ...

from 2007 to 2021. He was CEO of EMI Group plc between 12 January 2007 and August 2007, having previously been Executive Chairman of the group since July 1999. In addition to his position at EMI, Nicoli has previously been Group Chief Executive of United Biscuits (Holdings) plc (1991–1999) and Non-Executive Chairman of HMV Group plc, The Tussauds Group Ltd and Vue Entertainment Ltd.

Early life

Nicoli was born 5 August 1950, the son of an Italian

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

. His brother died at a young age of liver failure. Nicoli was educated at Diss Grammar School and went on to graduate with a First Class degree in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Career

From 1972, Nicoli spent 27 years in the

food manufacturing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex ind ...

industry. While working in marketing for the confectionery company

Rowntree's Rowntree's is a British confectionery brand and former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands, ...

(previously owned by Rowntree Mackintosh), Nicoli spotted a gap in the market and filled it with two chocolate bars that have since become bestsellers: the Lion Bar and Yorkie. From Rowntree’s, Nicoli joined the multinational food manufacturer

United Biscuits United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In Nove ...

in 1980. He started out as marketing director before moving to become the group business planning director from 1984. He was Managing Director of the Frozen Foods division in 1985 and of the Biscuit and Confectionary division from 1986 to 1988. In 1989, he became Chief Executive of the company’s European operations before stepping up to be Group Chief Executive in 1991, a role he held until April 1999 when he moved to EMI. He was the youngest CEO of a FTSE 100 company. Nicoli first joined

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in the capacity of Non-Executive Director in July 1993 and became an Executive Director on May 1, 1999 shortly before being appointed Executive Chairman. He left EMI in August 2007 when the company was sold to private equity group Terra Firma. He became a director of HMV Group plc in 2000 and served as Chairman from 2001 to 2004. He was also Chairman of

The Tussauds Group The Tussauds Group was an entertainment company which is now a part of Merlin Entertainments. It was based in Poole, Dorset from where it managed a portfolio of brands and over 50 attractions that included the Madame Tussauds waxworks, Legoland T ...

from 2001 to 2007, Vue Entertainment from 2006 to 2010, and

uSwitch Uswitch Limited is a UK-based price comparison service and switching website founded in 2000. The site allows consumers to compare prices for a range of energy, personal finance, insurance, and communications services. History uSwitch.com wa ...

from 2013 to 2015. From 2010 to 2014, he was senior partner of Sunningdale Capital LLP. He was a non-executive director of

Greencore Group Greencore Group plc is a food company in Ireland. It was established by the Irish government in 1991, when Irish Sugar was privatised, but today Greencore's products are mainly convenience foods, not only in Ireland but also in the United Kingd ...

from 2010 to 2017. He was chairman of

between 2015 and 2021. Nicoli has been chairman of Centtrip since 2015. He is also currently a director for Akazoo and senior independent director of

PGA European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

. In July 2003, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

for his outstanding service to the local community. In 2006, he received the

for services to the music industry.

References

External links

The EMI Group website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicoli, Eric 1950 births Living people People educated at Diss Grammar School Alumni of King's College London EMI Commanders of the Order of the British Empire