Sir Thomas Fulton Wilson McKillop,
FRS,
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(born 19 March 1943) is a Scottish chemist, who was CEO of
AstraZeneca PLC from 1999 until 2006 and chairman of the
RBS Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
from 2006 until 2008.
Early life
McKillop was born in
Dreghorn
Dreghorn is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland, east of Irvine town centre, on the old main road from Irvine to Kilmarnock. It is sited on a ridge between two rivers. As archaeological excavations near the village centre have found a signifi ...
, a small village in
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...
. He was educated at
Irvine Royal Academy
Irvine Royal Academy is a six-year non-denominational secondary school in Kilwinning Road, Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
History
In 1572, King James VI provided funds to found the King's School of Irvine at Kirkgatehead. A new building was e ...
and then
Glasgow University
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, where he took a BSc (Hons) and PhD in chemistry. He joined the
ICI Petrochemical & Polymer Laboratory (later renamed the ICI Corporate Laboratory) at
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...
in 1969 after post-doctoral research work in Paris. He moved to ICI Pharmaceuticals Division in 1975 and, having held a number of positions in research, in 1989 he was appointed technical director of ICI with international responsibilities for research, development and production.
Zeneca
In 1993, ICI Pharmaceuticals demerged to become
Zeneca
Zeneca (officially Zeneca Group PLC) was a British multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was formed in June 1993 by the demerger of the pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals businesses of Imperial Che ...
, and in 1994 he was appointed chief executive officer of the new company. In April 1999, Zeneca merged with Astra to form
AstraZeneca PLC. McKillop became chief executive officer (CEO) of the merged company. He retired from AstraZeneca on 1 January 2006, when David Brennan took over as AstraZeneca's CEO. McKillop became the chairman of the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
(RBS). His brother,
Alexander McKillop
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants li ...
, was professor of organic chemistry at the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
from 1970 to 1996.
RBS
McKillop then changed from chemistry to banking in 2006. He was chairman RBS from when it accrued a debt of £45 billion, working with CEO
Fred Goodwin
Frederick Anderson Goodwin FRSE FCIBS (born 17 August 1958) is a Scottish chartered accountant and former banker who was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) between 2001 and 2009.
From 2000 to 2008, he pre ...
, who promoted aggressive expansion of the bank by acquiring other banks.
On 13 October 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a UK government bailout of £45 billion of new capital into Royal Bank of Scotland. RBS has accrued a further debt of £58 billion since 2008.
By 2008 RBS was the fifth-largest bank in the world by market capitalisation.
It rose while aggressively pursuing
leveraged buyouts
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...
which include debt transferral of acquired companies; for example RBS acquired
ABN Amro
ABN or abn may refer to:
Companies
* ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group
* ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank
* Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank
Radio, news and television organizat ...
for €71 billion, while ABN transpired to be worth only half of that. RBS Directors contracted that ABN could keep its collection of priceless art assets as part of the deal. In 2008 RBS also lent $9.3bn, more than double its nearest rival.
From the time that Goodwin took over as chief executive until 2007, RBS's assets quadrupled, its cost-to-income ratio improved markedly, and its profits soared. In 2006 pre-tax profits climbed 16% to £9.2 billion with most of the growth coming from its
investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
business.
However, following a shareholder crisis meeting in the midst of a $12bn rights issue, Tom was criticized for "re-arranging the cosy deck-chairs on the sinking titanic", and Goodwin was criticised by RBS shareholders for selling shares at half the price of the shareholder's given value. Having nearly trebled between February 2000 and May 2002 the share price halved from 2006 to 2008. It had lost 95% of its value by 2009. Goodwin was accused of megalomania by some shareholders, as reported by
Dresdner Kleinwort
Kleinwort Hambros is a private bank owned by Société Générale that offers financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Kleinwort Hambros focuses on private banking, providing a range of services for high ...
analyst James Eden (who said he thought the label was 'unwarranted').
['']The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 5 August 2005
/ref> After the Bank of China deal, he was forced to promise RBS shareholders he would not indulge in any further big acquisitions and focus instead on growing the group organically.
However, in early 2007, the Dutch bank ABN AMRO
ABN or abn may refer to:
Companies
* ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group
* ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank
* Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank
Radio, news and television organizat ...
was under pressure from hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
s, including Chris Hohn
Sir Christopher Anthony Hohn KCMG (born October 1966) is a British billionaire hedge fund manager.
In 2003, Hohn established The Children's Investment Fund Management (TCI), a prominent value-based hedge fund. Profits generated by the fund we ...
of the hedge fund TCI, to break itself up to maximise shareholder value. ABN chief executive Rijkman Groenink suspected RBS of acting in concert with the hedge fund ''Tosca'', which was chaired by former RBS chairman Mathewson and recommended the takeover bid of an RBS consortium for €71 billion, against the proposed merger with Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
for €61 billion.['']The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 9 October 2007
RBS on brink of declaring victory in ABN battle
/ref> Goodwin arranged a consortium of RBS, Fortis and former RBS shareholders Grupo Santander
Banco Santander, S.A., doing business as Santander Group (, , Spanish: ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Santander in Spain. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in all global financial centres ...
, to purchase the assets of ABN AMRO and break them up in a three-way split. According to the proposed deal, RBS would take over ABN's Chicago operations, LaSalle Bank
LaSalle Bank Corporation was the holding company for LaSalle Bank N.A. and LaSalle Bank Midwest N.A. (formerly Standard Federal Bank). With US$116 billion in assets, it was headquartered at 135 South LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois. LaSa ...
, and ABN's wholesale operations; while Santander would take the Brazilian operations and Fortis would take the Dutch operations. In a manoeuvre "labelled in all quarters as a poison pill" ABN AMRO agreed to sell key RBS target LaSalle to Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
for $21bn, but in July 2007 the consortium offered the same $98bn for ABN's remaining assets, with a higher cash component (93%).
The deal was struck in October 2007 as the global liquidity crisis began to develop, with Barclays withdrawing its EUR61bn bid and ABN's shareholders endorsing the EUR71bn RBS takeover. Coming after the nationalisation of Northern Rock
Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank in ...
due to the freezing of the wholesale money markets, the deal proved the final straw for RBS, as it severely weakened its balance sheet not only through the size of the acquisition but due to ABN AMRO's substantial exposure to the US subprime mortgage crisis
The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It was triggered by a large decline ...
.
While at RBS, the value of the bank's shares fell below a quarter of their level in early 2007. Following criticism from the press for the takeover of ABN AMRO
ABN or abn may refer to:
Companies
* ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group
* ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank
* Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank
Radio, news and television organizat ...
and the UK government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
having to bail out the bank, McKillop announced his early retirement as chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
on 13 October 2008. At a meeting of the Treasury Select Committee
The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administr ...
of the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 10 February 2009, he admitted to having no qualifications in banking. Like the retired bankers present, he apologised for the bankruptcy for RBS.
Family
Thomas married Elizabeth Kettle in 1966. He also has 8 grandchildren.
Awards
* 2002 Knighted in the 2002 Queen's Birthday honour's list for services to the pharmaceuticals industry.
* 2003 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
* June 2004 – awarded an honorary doctor of Sciences by the University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
[Honorary Degrees 2004](_blank)
, ''University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
'', 15 April 2004, accessed 19 January 2011.
* 2005 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
* 2005 Annual Centenary Medal, Society of Chemical Industry
The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit".
Offices
The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...
* 2006 Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
* 2007 Royal Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
Other positions
* Non-executive director of BP, having been a non-executive director
A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...
of Lloyds TSB
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
Group plc from 1999 to 2004
* Chairman of the British Pharma Group
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
* Pro-chancellor of the University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_labe ...
* Vice-president of the
* Chairman of the North West Science Council.
* President of the Science Council
The Science Council is a UK organisation that was established by Royal Charter in 2003. The principal activity of The Science Council is the promotion of the advancement and dissemination of knowledge of and education in science pure and applie ...
(January 2007)
* Board of Administration Evolva
See also
*The Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Ba ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKillop, Tom
1943 births
Living people
Knights Bachelor
BP people
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
People educated at Irvine Royal Academy
People from North Ayrshire
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
INSEAD alumni
AstraZeneca people
Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry
Imperial Chemical Industries people
People associated with the University of Leicester
NatWest Group people
Scottish chairpersons of corporations
Scottish chemists