Sir William John Anthony Timpson

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 24 March 1943) is a British businessman, the chairman and owner of Timpson, a UK shoe repair chain with over 2000 shops.

Early life and career

Timpson was born in 1943, and educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. He began his professional career as a management trainee at Clarks, before moving on to become a shoe buyer for his family's business, William Timpson Ltd., in 1965. He was appointed a director of Timpson in 1968, and remained with the company after his father Anthony was ousted as chairman five years later, at which point it was acquired for £28,600,000 by

United Drapery Stores United Drapery Stores, or UDS, was a British retail group that dominated the British high street from the 1950s to the early 1980s. Early history In 1925, Charterhouse Bank set up Charterhouse Investment Trust. The trust started buying up dep ...

. After leading a management buyout, Timpson was himself installed as the firm's chairman in 1985. Timpson now has a weekly management column in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and has written several books about his management style. According to The '' Sunday Times Rich List'' in 2019, he is worth £210 million.

Politics

During the

EU referendum This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate st ...

in 2016, Timpson gave his public support for leaving the EU and stated that it is "a risk worth taking".

Personal life

Timpson lives in Cheshire. Together with his wife Alex, who died on 5 January 2016, he had three children, adopted two more, and fostered another 90. His youngest son,

Edward Timpson Anthony Edward Timpson, (born 26 December 1973) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2019 general election. He was previously MP for neighbouring Crew ...

, is the MP for Eddisbury in Cheshire, and was previously MP for

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now fo ...

, also in Cheshire. Timpson is an avid Manchester City supporter. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2004 Birthday Honours for services to the retail sector, and was knighted in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to business and fostering. Timpson's late aunt, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, who died in 2014 aged 101, was a former

Lord Mayor of Manchester This is a list of the Lord Mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester Mayor. The Current and 124th Lord Mayor is Cllr Donna Ludford, Labour who has served Si ...

, a Freeman of the City and a mathematician, and has been described as "one of the most distinguished Mancunians of her era."

Publications

* ''High Street Heroes: The Story of British Retail in 50 People'', Icon Books (2015) * ''Ask John: Straight-talking, common sense from the front line of management''; Paperback, Icon Books (2014) * ''Upside Down Management'', John Wiley & Sons (2010) * ''How to Ride a Giraffe'', Caspian Publishing (2008) * ''Dear James: Secrets of Success from a Management Maverick'', Caspian Publishing (2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timpson, John 1943 births British chief executives Living people People educated at Oundle School Alumni of the University of Nottingham Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Eurosceptics Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods