Sir Malcolm Conrad Walker (born 11 February 1946) is an English businessman who is the founder of Iceland Foods Ltd.

Early life

Malcolm Conrad Walker was born in

Grange Moor Grange Moor is a village in the Kirklees district of West Yorkshire, England. The village is situated between Huddersfield (6 miles (10 km) away) and Wakefield (9 miles (14 km) away). In 2019 it had an estimated population of 1101. The ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, the son of a poultry farmer, and was educated at Mirfield Grammar School. He originally co-founded Iceland Foods in 1970 with Peter Hinchcliffe and considered naming it "Penguin"; he credited his first wife with coming up with the Iceland brand name. The company had a national presence by the late 1980s.

Personal life

Walker was married for over 50 years to Rhianydd, until her death in 2021 and founded the Lady Walker Fund for Dementia in her memory. His

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed family home is near

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. The couple had three children. Their only son,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, is the current managing director of Iceland. Walker remarried to Natalie in 2022, and they live together on the family estate. In May 2017, Walker donated £50,000 to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. His knighthood was announced the following month. In January 2023, Walker was the subject of ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

and for his luxury item chose a giant cooking pot.

Wealth

In 2019, The ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

'' estimated Walker's wealth at £265 million.

Controversy

In 2013, during the horse meat food contamination scandal, Walker attracted criticism for making negative comments about Irish people and the

Food Safety Authority of Ireland __NOTOC__ The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) ( ga, Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia na hÉireann – USBE) is the statutory body responsible for ensuring food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland complies with food safety and hygiene ...

Recognition

Walker was appointed C.B.E, in the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...

"for services to the frozen food industry", and was knighted in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

, for services to retailing, entrepreneurship and charity,. He has been awarded honorary degrees by

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

Wrexham Glyndŵr University , mottoeng = Confidence through Education , logo = Wrexham Glyndŵr University Logo.svg , image = Coat of arms of Wrexham Glyndŵr.svg , image_size = 180px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , established = 1887, as Wrexham School of Scien ...

, the

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancel ...

and the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

, and is an Honorary Fellow of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

References

1946 births Living people British retail chief executives British retail company founders Businesspeople from Yorkshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) donors Knights Bachelor People from Kirklees (district) {{UK-business-bio-stub