Sir Peter Oliver Gershon, (born 10 January 1947) is a British businessman and former civil servant, former Chairman of

Tate & Lyle Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...

, and since January 2012, Chairman of the FTSE 20 company National Grid. He is chiefly known for conducting the

Gershon Review The Gershon Efficiency Review was a review of efficiency in the United Kingdom, UK public sector conducted in 2003-4 by Peter Gershon, Sir Peter Gershon. Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, then Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister respectivel ...

in 2004/2005 which recommended savings across the UK's

public services A public service is any Service (economics), service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through pub ...

and for being an adviser 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 ...

during the run up to the 2010 General Election. He has also been Chair of the

Office of Government Commerce The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) was a UK Government Office established as part of HM Treasury in 2000. It was moved into the Efficiency and Reform Group of the Cabinet Office in 2010, before being closed in 2011. Overview A ''Review of ...

as well as sitting on the boards of several well known companies and organisations.

Early career

He was educated initially at

Reigate Grammar School Reigate Grammar School is a 2–18 mixed independent day school in Reigate, Surrey, England. It was established in 1675 by Henry Smith. History The school was founded as a free school for poor boys in 1675 by Alderman Henry Smith with Jon Will ...

and graduated from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

with a

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in Mathematics in 1969. Gershon then joined

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 ...

and worked in the computer industry for seventeen years, before holding senior line managerial positions in the telecommunications industry between 1987 and 1994. In 1994 he was appointed the main board director of GEC plc, where he had responsibility for the company's worldwide defence business. In November 1998 the

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office asked him "to review civil procurement in Central Government in the light of the Government's objectives on efficiency, modernisation and competitiveness". His report on this work was published in April 1999.

Civil service career

Gershon joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in April 2000 as the first Chief Executive of the

, where he was given a remit to implement a programme to reform the way the British government handles the annual budget of

public procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a subst ...

. In August 2003 he was invited to lead a major review of efficiency across the whole UK public sector by Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

. The

was completed in 2004/2005 and was intended to lead to significant savings in public spending by 2007/2008.

Return to the private sector

He returned to the private sector after four years of public service, and is currently Chairman of Premier Farnell plc. and

Symbian Ltd Symbian Ltd. was a software development and licensing consortium company, known for the Symbian operating system (OS), for smartphones and some related devices. Its headquarters were in Southwark, London, England, with other offices opened in C ...

. He has also led a review of Ministerial and Royal Air Travel, is a non-executive director of

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

, and a member of the councils 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 ...

and

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. In addition, he is an Honorary Fellow of the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Te ...

and the

Association for Project Management The Association for Project Management is a British professional organisation for project and programme management. It received a Royal Charter in 2017, and is a registered charity. It has over 37,500 individual and 550 corporate members, and ...

; and a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

, the

British Computer Society Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, known as the British Computer Society until 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in infor ...

, the

Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), formerly the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, is a global professional body working for the procurement and supply profession in many regions of the world. It promotes best prac ...

and the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

. He is a Companion of the

Chartered Management Institute The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. The major membership classes are ''Member'', ''Fellow'' - for those with significant expertise - and ''Companion'' - the most sen ...

; and 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, ...

. He holds an Honorary Doctorate in Technology from

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

Conservative Party adviser

Along with another former government adviser, Dr Martin Read, Gershon became a member of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

' Public Sector Productivity Advisory Board. In the run up to the 2010 General Election, this Board claimed that savings of £12 billion in spending could be collectively saved across all Government departments without affecting the quality of front line services. The body also claimed to have identified £6bn in efficiency savings which would allow the Conservatives to avoid the Labour Party's planned rises in

National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

contributions in 2010.

Honours

Gershon was appointed a CBE for his services to industry in 2000 and knighted in 2004 for his work on public procurement. In 2001, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK and from aroun ...

(FREng).

Personal life

Gershon is married with three children. His hobbies include skiing, swimming, reading, travel and the theatre. He is the second cousin once removed from

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

References

External links

Biography of Peter GershonEarly career – ICL, STC, GEC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gershon, Peter 1947 births Living people British chief executives in the energy industry English Jews People educated at Reigate Grammar School Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge British civil servants Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People associated with Kingston University People associated with Imperial College London British chairpersons of corporations Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering