John Ferguson McClelland,

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 ...

, FRSE,

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(born 1945, in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

) is a Scottish businessman and a former chairman of

Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

Business career

McClelland spent 35 years in the international electronics industry holding senior board level positions at a number of the sector’s leading corporations and gaining wide experience of business operations in all geographies. At IBM he was Vice President of Worldwide Operations for its personal computer company before joining

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president un ...

in 1995 where he was the Senior Vice President responsible for all of Digital’s worldwide operational activities. Following an appointment to the Board of

Philips Consumer Electronics Philips Consumer Lifestyle is a subsidiary of the Dutch multinational electronics company Philips which produces consumer electronics and small appliances. It is the only Philips company headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The America ...

as Global Chief Industrial Officer he joined

3Com Corporation 3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe ex ...

where he was a corporate officer and latterly President of its Business Networks Company. He was Chairman of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and former Chairman of the CBI’s Technology and Innovation Committee. During his career he developed extensive experience and a passionate interest in procurement and supply chain operations and gained recognition as a leading practitioner in this field. In 2006, he conducted a review of public sector procurement in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. This review formed the basis of an ongoing major reform of public procurement in Scotland. He has also assisted the Welsh Assembly Government in pursuing improvements in public procurement structures and practices as Chairman of NQC Limited and is involved in a number of procurement strategy and related projects across the UK.

Director of Rangers FC

McClelland was appointed a director at

Rangers Football Club Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

in October 2000 and was appointed as vice-chairman in November 2001. He was chairman of the club between 2002 and 2004, succeeding and being replaced by David Murray on both occasions In 2002, Murray had relinquished the chairmanship and limited his day-to-day involvement in the club's running with McClelland taking over, only for him to return in August 2004 to head up a new share issue. In July 2008, McClelland assumed the role of vice-chairperson of the

European Club Association The European Club Association (ECA) is a body representing the interests of professional association football clubs in UEFA. It is the sole such body recognised by the confederation, and has member clubs in each UEFA member association. It was fo ...

, along with

Joan Laporta Joan Laporta Estruch (; born 29 June 1962) is a Spanish politician and current president of FC Barcelona. Laporta is a lawyer (he graduated from the University of Barcelona) with his own firm, Laporta & Arbós, which has a number of notable Sp ...

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

and Umberto Gandini of

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

. On 17 October 2011, McClelland and

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the ...

resigned from their posts as non-executive directors at Ibrox. The duo said they had been isolated following the takeover of Rangers by

Craig Whyte Craig Thomas Whyte (born 18 January 1971) is a Scottish businessman best known for his controversial spell as owner of Scottish football club Rangers. Whyte first entered business in a plant hire company, after which he moved into security, m ...

in May that year.

Personal life

In 1994, he was appointed a CBE for services to industry and education. He became a Fellow of Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1995 and was Vice-President between 2009-2012. He is a Companion of the Institute of Management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, John Businesspeople from Glasgow Rangers F.C. chairmen Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland Living people 1945 births Digital Equipment Corporation people Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh IBM employees