Sir Peter Leahy Bonfield (born 3 June 1944) is a business executive who has led a number of companies in the fields of electronics, computers and communications. Currently a director of several companies in the USA, Europe and the Far East, he was formerly chief executive of ICL and more recently of

BT Group BT Group plc (trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broa ...

. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Marketing Society and the Royal Society of Arts. He is a Liveryman of The

Worshipful Company of Information Technologists The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, also known as the Information Technologists' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The company was granted livery status by the Court of Aldermen on 7 January 1992, ...

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

Honorary Citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

and Member of the Pilgrims of Great Britain.

Early life

The third son of an engineer and his Welsh wife, Bonfield was brought up in

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north n ...

in Hertfordshire and educated at Hitchin Boys Grammar School. Bonfield graduated from

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

with an engineering degree.BBC News , BUSINESS , Sir Peter Bonfield: A profile
/ref>

Career

Peter Bonfield began his career with the American company

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...

, in their Bedford (England) semiconductor plant, where he held various design, manufacturing and management roles. In 1984, on its takeover by

Standard Telephones and Cables Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (later STC plc) was a British manufacturer of telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications, and related equipment. During its history, STC invented and developed several groundbreaking new technologies incl ...

(STC plc), Bonfield was appointed chairman and managing director of

International Computers Limited International Computers Limited (ICL) was a British computer hardware, computer software and computer services company that operated from 1968 until 2002. It was formed through a merger of International Computers and Tabulators (ICT), English Ele ...

(ICL plc). He remained as chief executive of ICL until the end of 1995, seeing the company through a period when STC sold most of its stake in the company to

Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...

. In 1996 he was appointed CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of

British Telecommunications plc BT Group plc (trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of Landline, fixed- ...

, where he served until early 2002. Promising a "rollercoaster ride", during Bonfield's tenure the share price went from £4 to £15, and back again to £5. Bonfield's salary to 31 March 2001, was a basic of £780,000 (increasing to £820,000) plus a £481,000 bonus and £50,000 of other benefits including pension. He also received a deferred bonus, payable in shares in three years' time, of £481,000, and additional bonuses of £3.3 million. Bonfield is presently Chairman of Dutch semiconductor firm

NXP Semiconductors NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXP) is a Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company employs approximately 31,000 people in more than 30 countries. NXP reported revenue of $11.06 billion in 2 ...

, Chair of Council and Senior Pro-Chancellor,

, UK, a director of: L.M.

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informat ...

(Sweden),

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...

(Taiwan),

Mentor Graphics Siemens EDA is a US-based electronic design automation (EDA) multinational corporation for electrical engineering and electronics, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Founded in 1981 as Mentor Graphics, the company was acquired by Siemens in ...

(USA), a member of The Longreach Group Advisory Board (Japan), Senior Advisor Rothschild (London) and Board Mentor CMI (Brussels), chairman of the board East West Institute, UK, Chairman Small Business Charter, Director Global Logic Inc, USA, Member of Silent Circle Advisory Board, USA. Previous positions include Director of Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, member of New Venture Partners Advisory Board, USA, Advisor Apax Partners LLP, London, Citi International Advisory Board (USA), director of Dubai International Capital (Dubai), a senior non-executive director of

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

Group PLC, London, directorships at BICC plc, DESC Ltd, mm02plc, The Department of Constitutional Affairs and The Ministry of Justice, member of the Trilateral Commission, member of the Civil Service College Advisory Board, member of the High Level Working Group of the European Information Society, member of the Steering Group of the European Round Table and member of the EU-Japan Business Dialogue Round Table.

Recognition

Bonfield was elected fellow of the

UK in 1993. He was honoured as a 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 ...

in 1988, and subsequently dubbed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1996. In 1995 he was awarded the

Mountbatten Medal The IET Mountbatten Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution, or contributions over a period, to the promotion of electronics or information technology and their application. The Medal was established by the National Electronics C ...

. In July 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University and holds 11 Honorary Doctorates in total. In 2001 he was awarded the first Internet Villain Award at the third annual Internet Industry Awards. Other Recognition Awards include the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

, the Gold Medal from The Institute of Management and Outstanding Executive from Texas Tech University, USA.

References

External links

Sir Peter Bonfield Home page

Profile of time as BT CEO at BBC News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonfield, Peter Leahy NXP Semiconductors people People from Baldock Alumni of Loughborough University English people of Welsh descent English businesspeople International Computers Limited people British Telecom people Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods 1944 births Living people People educated at Hitchin Boys' School People from Hitchin