Paul Drechsler, (born 16 April 1956) is an Irish businessman. He is the former

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a UK business organisation, which in total claims to speak for 190,000 businesses, this is made up of around 1,500 direct members and 188,500 non-members. The non members are represented through the 1 ...

President. He serves as the Chairman of

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every s ...

and BusinessLDN. He is Chancellor of

Teesside University , mottoeng = Deeds Not Words , established = 1930 – Constantine Technical College1969 – as Teesside Polytechnic 1992 – gained university status , type = Public , endowment = £0.23 m (2019/20) , chancellor ...

Early life

Paul Drechsler graduated with a bachelor of science in engineering from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

Business career

Drechsler worked for

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

for twenty-four years. He joined the

Wates Group Wates Group Ltd is one of the largest family owned construction, property services and development companies in the United Kingdom. Wates Giving, the firm's charitable foundation, has donated over £10 million since 2008. History Edward Wates ...

, a private construction firm, in 2004. He served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from April 2006 until 2014. He served as the Chairman of

Bibby Line Bibby Line is a UK company concerned with shipping and marine operations. Its parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, can be traced back to John Bibby who founded the company in 1807. The company along with the group is based in Liverpool. ...

from 2014-2020. He served as Senior Independent Director o
Essentra Plc
from 2005 until 2015. He serves as Non-Executive Director o
Greencore Plc
an
Schroders & Co. Ltd
Drechsler was made an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the construction industry in February 2015. In 2018,

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

awarded Drechsler with an honorary doctorate. In 2019 he was honoured with th
Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award
In July 2022, it was announced Dreschler will step down from the board of BusinessLDN

Philanthropy

Drechsler served as the Chairman of th
Skills Funding Agency
until September 2015. He served on the Board of Trustees o
Business in the Community
until December 2017. He served as the President of th
Confederation of British Industry
a pro-business organisation in the United Kingdom, from June 2015 until June 2018. Drechsler served as the Chair o
Teach First
from 2013 until 2019. He also serves on th
Provost’s Council of Trinity College Dublin
and on the Advisory Council of th
Federation for Education Development
He is Chairman of the Board o
ICC (UK)
an
London First

Personal life

Drechsler is married. He has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drechsler, Paul Living people 1964 births Businesspeople from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish chief executives Irish chairpersons of corporations Honorary Commanders of the Order of the British Empire