Simon Wolfson

Simon Adam Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Aspley Guise (born 27 October 1967), is a British businessman and currently chief executive of the clothing retailer Next plc, as well as a Conservative life peer. He is the son of the former Next chairman, The Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale, who was also a Conservative life peer.

Family and education

Wolfson's great-grandfather, Solomon Wolfson, was a Jewish cabinet-maker who settled in Glasgow and had nine children, one of whom was Sir Isaac Wolfson, Simon's great uncle, who made his fortune through Great Universal Stores. Wolfson's father, Lord Wolfson of Sunningdale, was a former chairman of Next and Great Universal Stores, as well as being a Conservative life peer.

Wolfson is the eldest of three siblings. He attended Radley College, near Abingdon, followed by studying law at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Business career

Wolfson joined Next as its most highly paid sales consultant ever, in its Kensington branch in 1991 for several weeks, the year his father was granted his peerage. The following year, he was taken on as assistant to Next's chief executive, David Jones. Wolfson was elevated within the company rapidly, being appointed to the board of directors in 1997, culminating in his appointment as chief executive in August 2001 but leading at least one city analyst to make allegations of nepotism. At the age of 33, this made him the youngest chief executive of a FTSE 100 company. He was one of the first businesspeople to predict the 2008–9 economic crisis.

In 2021 his pay package at Next was £3.4 million.

Relationship with staff

In 2013, he waived his £2.4 million bonus and gave it to the staff of Next who had been with the company since 2010. Wolfson earned £4.6m in 2013 at a time when the average pay of Next employees was £10,000. This led the GMB trade union supported by Paul Heaton to tour Next shops presenting anti-social behaviour awards to managers for their failure to provide a living wage. In 2014, for a second successive year, Wolfson waived his bonus and distributed it among staff, sharing some £3.8m.
In May ''Retail Week'' reported that Next staff would be up to £1000 a year worse off after the company decided not to pay a premium for staff working on a Sunday. Those refusing a change of employment terms were allegedly told they risked being made redundant. The GMB union accused Wolfson of having a "total disregard for family life."
In April 2017, the salaries of some of Next's most senior staff were cut following a 3.8% fall in profits though Wolfson's salary was raised by 1%.

Approach

Apparently Wolfson is focused on numbers, logic and reason. He is wary of stories that are "anecdotally true but empirically false"; but he is in favour of Brexit.

Political views

Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise is a prominent supporter of the Conservative Party, having donated to David Cameron's campaign in the 2005 leadership election and co-chaired the party's Economic Competitiveness policy review. He was named by ''The Daily Telegraph'' as the 37th-most important British conservative in 2007. He was one of 35 signatories to an open letter calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to press ahead with the coalition government's plans to reduce the public finance deficit in one term in the face of opposition.

On 18 June 2010, Wolfson was created The Baron Wolfson of Aspley Guise, ''of Aspley Guise in the County of Bedfordshire'', and was introduced in the House of Lords on 6 July 2010. As of March 2019; he has not attended the house since October 2018; has a less than average attendance record for the House, and has spoken in the House on only 3 occasions since his entering the House in 2010, well below average for the House.

He voted loyally to the Conservatives in favour of working tax credit cuts in October 2015.

Views on Brexit

Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise has been described as the businessman most in favour of Brexit, calling for radical change to prevent a long period of low growth. Talking to ''The Times'', he predicted a very difficult 2016 for Next due to a change in customer spending habits rather than uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
Following the success of the Leave campaign, whilst most businessmen urged the Government not to rush proceedings, Wolfson said Britain's success now depended on the tone of trade negotiations, including with China, India and other global economies. In January 2017 Wolfson, who had warned the UK economy would collapse if the government failed to get trade agreements in place, said the Government should declare its negotiating objectives and not rush things. Wolfson also blamed a "far worse than expected" slump in Next's share price and the issuing of a profit warning, on customers preferring non-clothing Christmas presents.

Open Europe

In December 2016, Wolfson was appointed to the Chair of the Open Europe think-tank.

The Wolfson Economics Prize

Wolfson is the founder of the £250,000 Wolfson Economics Prize.

Personal life

Wolfson married Eleanor Shawcross in London in 2012. They had a son in 2013/14.

He owns houses in London and Aspley Guise.

See also

* Wolfson family

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfson, Simon
1967 births
Living people
People educated at Radley College
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
British businesspeople in retailing
Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
English Jews
British Eurosceptics
People from Aspley Guise
Jewish British politicians
Sons of life peers
Wolfson