Derek George Rayner, Baron Rayner (30 March 1926 – 26 June 1998) was an English businessman, who was chairman and chief executive of

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, and revived and rapidly expanded the company in the 1980s. He began working for M&S in 1953 as a management trainee and became the first chief executive outside the founding families of the company."Marks in Time" website includes picture
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Career

Marks & Spencer

Rayner began working for M&S as a management trainee 1953 at the company's store in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

when the company's then chairman, Lord

Marcus Sieff Marcus Joseph Sieff, Baron Sieff of Brimpton OBE (2 July 1913 – 23 February 2001) was a British businessman and chairman of his family company, the retailer Marks & Spencer, from 1972 to 1982. He was also a leading figure in UK Zionism. Sieff ...

, asked his advice about a problem. He rose rapidly in the company's management and became a director in 1967. By the 1980s the company's

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

, " St. Michael", was outdated and the company sales of clothing and household goods went into decline. Rayner restored the company by holding down costs and encouraging enterprise by employees. He also introduced strict financial controls, refurbishment of the larger stores and additional expansion. In 1988 under his control the company bought the

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

clothing company of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

for $750m, introduced a store

charge card A charge card is a type of credit card that enables the cardholder to make purchases which are paid for by the card issuer, to whom the cardholder becomes indebted. The cardholder is obligated to repay the debt to the card issuer in full by the ...

and opened more British stores.

Government

His tight financial controls and strong management practices at M&S led to him working for the British Government headed by

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

, serving in a variety of posts. From 1970-73 he arranged for the three British military services to use a single procurement office, the

MoD Procurement Executive The MoD Procurement Executive was the acquisition organisation of the Ministry of Defence. The Procurement Executive (widely known as ''PE'') was established on 2 August 1971 as a single procurement agency for all three services with Derek Rayner ...

. He also advised

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

on improving Government efficiency, including reducing the number of meetings officials held. He returned to M&S in 1982. In 1984, he became the first person from outside the founding families to become chief executive.

Personal life

Rayner was educated at

City College Norwich City College Norwich is a college of further and higher education in Norfolk, England. It is one of the largest colleges in the country. The College has expanded in recent years following mergers with Easton College in 2020 and Paston College ...

and

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

. In 1973 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

for his government work and on 3 February 1983 he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Rayner, of

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...

in the County of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

. He was a

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

with no known dependents."The Rise and Fall of M&S" - BBC report 28 September 2001
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Derek Rayner, Baron Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge British retail chief executives Businesspeople awarded knighthoods English businesspeople in retailing Knights Bachelor Marks & Spencer people Life peers 1926 births 1998 deaths People educated at City College Norwich 20th-century English businesspeople