Mark Ian Price, Baron Price (born 2 March 1961) is a British businessman, Founder of WorkL for Business and WorkL, Chairman of Fair Trade UK, writer, President of the Chartered Management Institute and member of the House of Lords. He was a former Managing Director of

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

, and Deputy Chairman of the

John Lewis Partnership The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held publ ...

. He joined the

Conservative 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 i ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

as the

Minister of State for Trade and Investment The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...

in April 2016. On 3 September 2017 it was announced that Price would leave the government; on 28 September Rona Fairhead was appointed to succeed him.

Early life

Price was born and grew up in

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His father was a

corner shop A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery tick ...

owner, later a

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

r, and an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

preacher. He attended

Crewe County Grammar School for Boys Crewe () is a railway town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civ ...

. In 1982 Price graduated from

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

with a 2:1 BA degree in

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. In 1984 Price married Jane Platt at Christchurch Priory in Dorset

Career

He started his career at the

as a graduate trainee in 1982,The Prince's Countryside Fund trustees
/ref> before progressing to become

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

store manager in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

and Cheadle. In 2005, he joined the John Lewis Partnership Board taking on responsibility for strategy as Development Director. In April 2007, the then Managing Director Steven Esom left the Partnership, and Price was appointed as his replacement. At the time Waitrose had 183 stores, and within six years this number had increased to 300. In 2013 it was announced that in addition to his position at Waitrose he would become Deputy Chairman of the

, replacing David Barclay who had held the position since 2006. In October 2015 Price announced he was to leave the John Lewis Partnership in April 2016 after 10 years fulfilling the role of Managing Director of Waitrose. Suggestions have been made saying that Mark may apply for the chairman position of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. In February 2016 it was announced that Price would become the new

Minister of State for Trade The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...

, after the resignation of Lord Maude of Horsham, and that he would be made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

. On 29 February, he was created Lord Price, of Sturminster Newton in the County of Dorset. He left the Government in September 2017. Since 2018 Price has been on the Council at Lancaster University and Chair of Fairtrade U

Price has sat on Coca-Cola Europe's board since 2019. Price became President of the Chartered management institute in September 2020. In October 2017, Price founded Engaging Business and WorkL, digital platforms designed to make the world a little happier and help businesses increase employee retention by measuring, tracking and improving organisations' workplace happiness; it offers happiness surveys and career development opportunities for individuals and businesses.

Other work

Price has served as Chairman of

Business in the Community Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the Prince's Charities of King Charles III (formerly the Prince of Wales). BITC work ...

since 2011 and The Prince's Countryside Fund since 2010. He sits on the Board of Directors of

and the

Consumer Goods Forum The Consumer Goods Forum is a global organization of 400 consumer goods companies with the likes of Amazon and Kellogg being involved. It represents combined sales of 2.5 trillion Euros across 70 countries and 10 million employees. Overview The C ...

. He was appointed

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(CVO) in the 2014 New Year Honours for his work with Business in the Community and The Prince's Countryside Fund. Price is also a Life Patron at

GroceryAid GroceryAid is a registered (1095897) benevolent society for people from all over the United Kingdom who have worked, or are working in the grocery industry, and who find they need extra support to get by. Founded in 1857 the National Grocers Benevo ...

. Price has written a number of books on employee engagement including 'Six Steps to Workplace Happiness' and 'Fairness for All'. Price has written a book to help children learn to play chess called The Foolish King. The Foolish King website helps children learn how to play chess in a fun and exciting way.

Personal life

In 1991 Price married Judith Bolt in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

. They live in

Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which ...

with their two girls.

References

External links

Waitrose

Audio clips

Interview on 11 June 2011
on ''The Bottom Line''
Interview on 26 July 2010
on ''

You and Yours ''You and Yours'' is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and produced by BBC News. History ''You and Yours'' began broadcasting in October 1970, when its first presenter was Joan York. In the 1980s it briefly ra ...

Video clips

BITC in March 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Mark Ian 1961 births Living people Alumni of Lancaster University Alumni of Bowland College, Lancaster British retail chief executives Channel 4 people Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Conservative Party (UK) life peers John Lewis Partnership people People educated at Ruskin High School, Crewe People from Crewe Waitrose Life peers created by Elizabeth II