Tim Parker
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Timothy Charles Parker (born 19 June 1955) is a British executive. As of 2020 he was the chairman of the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
,
Post Office Ltd gd, Oifis a' Phuist kw, Sodhva an Post ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Post Office Logo.svg , type = State-owned private company limited by shares , genre = , predecessor = General Post Office , foundation = 1987 , founder = , location_cit ...
, and
Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals ...
(HMCTS). He was replaced in February 2022 as chairman of the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
by René Olivieri and will leave the
Post Office Ltd gd, Oifis a' Phuist kw, Sodhva an Post ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Post Office Logo.svg , type = State-owned private company limited by shares , genre = , predecessor = General Post Office , foundation = 1987 , founder = , location_cit ...
in Autumn 2022. From 1986 to 2014, he was successively the CEO of Kenwood,
Clarks Shoes C. & J. Clark International Ltd, doing business as Clarks, is a British international shoe manufacturer and retailer. It was founded in 1825 by Cyrus Clark in the village of Street, Somerset, England, where the company's headquarters remain. ...
, Kwik-Fit, the AA, and
Samsonite Samsonite International S.A. () is an American premium luggage manufacturer and retailer, with products ranging from large suitcases to small toiletries bags and briefcases. The company was founded in Denver, Colorado, United States. Its r ...
, and led each company in a turnaround. He was appointed the chairman of the National Trust in 2014, chairman of Post Office Ltd in 2015, and chairman of HMCTS in 2018.


Early life and education

Parker was born in
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, in 1955. The son of an army officer, he spent much of his childhood abroad. He was educated at Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, leaving in 1973. He attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where he was chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club. He holds an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford (1977), and an MSc in Business Studies from the
London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...
(1981).


Career

After graduating from Oxford, Parker worked as a junior economist in
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 ...
from 1977 to 1979. In 1981, after obtaining his business degree, he joined
Thorn EMI Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...
as assistant to Sir William Barlow, chairman of the engineering group. At the age of 26, he was appointed CEO of Blakeslee, a small engineering subsidiary of Thorn EMI in Chicago. After two years he had the business sold off as lacking in scalability. Returning to the UK, he headed Crypto Peerless, a Birmingham company manufacturing foodservice equipment, which in a little over two years he took from break-even to £800,000 in profits. In 1986, he was appointed CEO of the appliance manufacturer Kenwood. In 1989 he led a management-based
leveraged buyout 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 ...
of the business, with backing from the private-equity firm
Candover Investments Candover Investments plc. was a British-based, private equity firm, specialising in arranging and leading large buyouts and buyins. Candover Investments is structured as an investment trust An investment trust is a form of investment fund foun ...
; the company was purchased for £52 million. It was listed on
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...
in 1992 at a valuation of £104 million. In 1996, Parker became CEO of
Clarks Shoes C. & J. Clark International Ltd, doing business as Clarks, is a British international shoe manufacturer and retailer. It was founded in 1825 by Cyrus Clark in the village of Street, Somerset, England, where the company's headquarters remain. ...
. He substantially reorganised the company, closed 20 factories, moved manufacturing overseas, and revived the Clarks brand with more up-to-date shoe styles. Within six years the company's profitability increased by 150%, and by the time he left in 2002 it had revenues approaching £1 billion a year. In August 2002, he was hired as CEO of Kwik-Fit, after CVC Capital Partners acquired the company from
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
. He undertook a major restructuring of the business, including cutting 3,000 jobs. During his tenure as CEO, profits increased by 250%. The business was sold to
PAI Partners PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris, France. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, the historical principal investment activity of Paribas, which sta ...
in 2005 for £800 million, with Parker earning £20 million from the deal. In 2004, CVC Capital Partners and
Permira Permira is a global investment firm. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with assets under management of €60+ billion. The Permira funds have made approximately 300 private equity investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Ser ...
purchased the AA from Centrica for £1.75 billion, and Parker was appointed CEO. During the next two years, he carried out a fundamental restructuring programme; one-third of the company's 10,000 jobs were cut in the process. Parker was subsequently dubbed the "Prince of Darkness" by trade unions. The AA's EBITDA increased from £120 million in 2004 to £305 million in 2007. In 2007, the AA merged with Saga at an
enterprise value Enterprise value (EV), total enterprise value (TEV), or firm value (FV) is an economic measure reflecting the market value of a business (i.e. as distinct from market price). It is a sum of claims by all claimants: creditors (secured and unsecured) ...
of £3.35 billion. From 7 July to 19 August 2008, Parker served as First Deputy Mayor of London, under
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
. He was also chairman of Transport for London and CEO of the Greater London Authority during that period, prior to resigning. In November 2008, he was appointed non-executive chairman of
Samsonite Samsonite International S.A. () is an American premium luggage manufacturer and retailer, with products ranging from large suitcases to small toiletries bags and briefcases. The company was founded in Denver, Colorado, United States. Its r ...
, and was made CEO in January 2009. CVC Capital Partners had acquired Samsonite in July 2007, and the ensuing
financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
hit the luggage company hard due to the declines in international air travel and consumer spending; 2008 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation collapsed from $120 million to only $40 million globally. Parker was brought in to turn the company around. He restructured the company, replaced its management, cut jobs, closed stores, and invested funds in new suitcase designs and marketing. In 2010, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation revived to $192 million. The company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2011, raising $1.25 billion in the
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
. Following his appointment to the National Trust, in August 2014 Parker resigned as CEO of Samsonite, effective 1 October 2014; he remained on as non-executive chairman of the company. In 2009, he was the lead investor in the private-equity acquisition of British Pathé, and the historic film archive launched a newly established and dedicated London office, and a new, updated, quicker, and simpler website. He remains a director and owner of the British Pathé film archive. In 2014 Parker was appointed chairman of the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, an unpaid role. In May 2021 the National Trust announced that he would be stepping down in October 2021. In April 2018, Parker was appointed chairman of
Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals ...
(HMCTS), effective 27 April 2018.


Post Office scandal

In 2016, Parker was criticised by the head of the government department responsible for the Post Office when he concealed from
Post Office Ltd gd, Oifis a' Phuist kw, Sodhva an Post ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Post Office Logo.svg , type = State-owned private company limited by shares , genre = , predecessor = General Post Office , foundation = 1987 , founder = , location_cit ...
's own board of directors a report commissioned by the department's minister concerning potential miscarriages of justice resulting from the Post Office's prosecution of subpostmasters. Parker had become chairman of
Post Office Ltd gd, Oifis a' Phuist kw, Sodhva an Post ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Post Office Logo.svg , type = State-owned private company limited by shares , genre = , predecessor = General Post Office , foundation = 1987 , founder = , location_cit ...
in October 2015, in the midst of a long dispute between the Post Office and a number of subpostmasters over problems with its Horizon computer system. In June 2016, he told subpostmasters that replacing the Horizon system would "incur considerable risk". The faulty Horizon system was responsible for hundreds of subpostmasters being accused of accounting fraud and theft since its installation in 1999, and dozens of false convictions. In December 2019, the Post Office agreed to a £58 million settlement, and a High Court judge ruled that bugs, errors, and defects in the Horizon system caused shortfalls in branch accounts. In October 2020, after the Post Office conceded appeals by 44 former subpostmasters to overturn convictions linked to the Horizon accounting scandal, Parker issued an apology, stating "I am sincerely sorry on behalf of the Post Office for historical failings which seriously affected some postmasters. Post Office is resetting its relationship with postmasters with reforms that prevent such past events ever happening again. Post Office wishes to ensure that all postmasters entitled to claim civil compensation because of their convictions being overturned are recompensed as quickly as possible. Therefore, we are considering the best process for doing that.". The prosecution by
Post Office Ltd gd, Oifis a' Phuist kw, Sodhva an Post ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Post Office Logo.svg , type = State-owned private company limited by shares , genre = , predecessor = General Post Office , foundation = 1987 , founder = , location_cit ...
of 732 subpostmasters in relation to the faulty Horizon system is described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history.


Additional board memberships

As of 2020, in addition to being chairman of Samsonite, Parker is an advisor to CVC Capital Partners. He is also a trustee of the Royal Academy of Music.


Personal life

Parker is married and has four children.


See also

* List of Old Abingdonians


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Tim Living people 1955 births People educated at Abingdon School National Trust people Alumni of the University of London Alumni of London Business School