Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge
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Marshall in 2000
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| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| In office 1998 – 2012 Life Peerage |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 November 1933 |
| Died | 5 July 2012 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse |
Janet Cracknell
(m. 1958) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University College School |
Colin Marsh Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge (born 16 November 1933 – died 5 July 2012) was a well-known British businessman. He was also a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Colin Marshall went to University College School, a private school for boys in Hampstead, North London. He left school when he was 16 years old and did not go on to college or university.
In 1958, he married Janet Cracknell. They met while both working on a ship called the Ostrava. They had one child, a daughter named Joanna, who was born in 1960.
A Career in Business
Colin Marshall started his long career in international business in 1951. He first worked in shipping with the Orient Steam Navigation Company. After that, he spent 23 years working with companies that rented and leased vehicles. He worked for Hertz and then Avis. During this time, he lived and worked in many different countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
In 1971, he became an Executive Vice President at Avis. By 1976, he was the President and Chief Executive of the company, based in New York City.
Leading British Airways
In 1983, Colin Marshall was hired by Lord King to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of British Airways (BA). A CEO is the highest-ranking person in a company. Marshall played a very important role in getting British Airways ready to become a private company in 1987. This means it was no longer owned by the government.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, British Airways had a growing competitor: Richard Branson's airline, Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic started in 1984 and began to become a serious rival on some of BA's most profitable routes.
There was a big rivalry between the two airlines. In 1992, Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic took British Airways to court. The court decided that British Airways had to pay money to Branson and Virgin Atlantic because of how they had competed.
After this, Lord King became the president of BA, and Colin Marshall was promoted to chairman. He also continued to be the CEO for a while. A chairman leads the company's board of directors. Later, in 1996, Bob Ayling became the sole CEO.
In 1997, British Airways changed the design on its planes. They removed the Union Flag (the UK's national flag) and replaced it with different designs called "ethnic art livery." This change was not very popular. In 1999, British Airways reported a big drop in its profits. In March 2000, Colin Marshall removed Bob Ayling from his position and brought in Rod Eddington as the new CEO.
Other Important Roles
Colin Marshall also helped with the government's Action 2000 campaign. This campaign encouraged businesses to make sure their computers would work correctly when the year changed to 2000. This was important because some older computers might have had problems with the date change (known as the Y2K bug).
Marshall retired from his role as chairman of British Airways in July 2004.
He held many other important positions throughout his career:
- From 1996 to 1998, he was the president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which represents businesses in the UK.
- He was chairman of the board of Governors for Birkbeck, University of London.
- He was a Vice-President of the Advertising Association.
- He was a member of the British American Business Council International Advisory Board.
- He was a Council Member of the Institute of Directors.
- He was President of the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council.
- From 1998 to 2003, he was chairman of Invensys plc, an engineering company.
- From 1999 to 2003, he was chairman of The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), a well-known think tank.
- From 2000 to 2003, he was chairman of The Board of Trustees of The Conference Board Inc.
- From 1993 to 2004, he was a member of the Board of HSBC Holdings plc, a major bank.
- From 2007 to 2010, he was chairman of the Queen's Club, a famous sports club.
- In 2003, he became chairman of Pirelli UK plc, a tire company.
- In 2004, he became chairman of Nomura Securities, a financial company.
- From 2005 to 2007, Lord Marshall was also the Chairman of VisitBritain, the national British Tourist Board.
Awards and Recognition
In 1991, Colin Marshall received the Tony Jannus Award for his important contributions to commercial aviation (the business of flying planes).
In 1998, he was made a life peer by Queen Elizabeth II. This meant he became Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge and could sit in the House of Lords for the rest of his life.
In 1989, the University of Bath gave him an Honorary Degree, which is a special award.
After he passed away from cancer, Birkbeck College created a special lecture series in his name to remember him.
