Ian Taylor (British businessman) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ian Taylor
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Ian Taylor, in 2007
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| Born |
Ian Roper Taylor
7 February 1956 Croydon, England
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| Died | 8 June 2020 (aged 64) |
| Education | King's School, Macclesfield Merton College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Chairman, Vitol |
| Spouse(s) | Cristina Alicia |
| Children | 4 |
Ian Roper Taylor (born February 7, 1956 – died June 8, 2020) was a British businessman and a kind-hearted person who gave a lot to charity. He was the boss of The Vitol Group, which is the world's largest company that trades energy independently. He also owned most of Harris Tweed Hebrides, a company that makes special Harris Tweed cloth. He helped save this company in 2005.
Ian Taylor was a big supporter of the arts, especially through his Taylor Family Foundation. He believed that arts could help people and society. He was the chairman of the Royal Opera House. He started and paid for a program that gave cheaper tickets to school children from less wealthy families so they could enjoy performances. He also supported the Rambert Dance Company, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Academy of Arts.
He was a long-time supporter of the Conservative Party in the UK. He also supported campaigns for Scotland to stay in the UK in 2014 and for the UK to stay in the European Union in 2016.
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Early Life and Education
Ian Taylor was born in Croydon, England, and grew up in Manchester. His father worked for a big company called ICI. For a short time when Ian was a teenager, his family lived in Tehran. This was before the Iranian revolution happened in 1978–1979.
Ian went to King's School, Macclesfield from 1968 to 1974. After that, he studied at Oxford University from 1975 to 1978. He studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Merton College, Oxford.
A Career in Energy Trading
After finishing university in 1978, Ian Taylor started working for Shell. Within a year, he was sent to Venezuela to work as a trading representative. He learned a lot about how oil and other products are bought and sold.
In 1985, he joined Vitol Group. Vitol is a Dutch company that trades energy and other goods. It has offices all over the world. Ian worked as a manager in London for seven years. Then, in 1992, he moved to Singapore to become the managing director of Vitol Asia. He helped create a global team for trading crude oil and set up many international operations for the company.
In 1995, Ian Taylor became the CEO of Vitol Group. He held this important job until 2018. Under his leadership, Vitol grew a lot. It now trades millions of barrels of crude oil and related products every day. Vitol is the biggest independent oil trading company in the world.
Besides trading, Vitol also owns parts of oil refineries and has a lot of storage space for oil. In 2013, Vitol bought a large power plant in Lincolnshire, UK.
Saving Harris Tweed
In 2005, Ian Taylor helped save a very old and famous Scottish clothing brand called Harris Tweed. This special cloth is made on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. The company was in trouble, and its mill was not being used.
Ian bought the mill and invested more money to make the business successful again. He renamed it Harris Tweed Hebrides. Today, the company employs many people and provides work for weavers who make the cloth at home. Harris Tweed Hebrides sells its cloth to famous brands around the world.
The company has won several awards for its quality and contribution to fashion.
Helping Others: Philanthropy
Ian Taylor was very passionate about helping others, especially children and young people. He did this through two main foundations: the Vitol Foundation and the Taylor Family Foundation.
The Vitol Foundation
Vitol, the company Ian led, started giving money to charities in 2002. In 2006, the Vitol Foundation was officially created, with Ian as its first chairman. Its main goal is to help children who live in poverty. The foundation wants to give them a chance to have a better life and reach their full potential.
Since 2006, the Vitol Foundation has supported over 2,000 projects in many countries. These projects have helped a lot of people. In 2011, the foundation received an award from Save the Children for its amazing help during emergencies.
The Taylor Family Foundation
In 2007, Ian and his wife, Tina Taylor, started their own charity called the Taylor Family Foundation. They wanted to make their charitable giving even more effective. This foundation mainly focuses on education and supporting the arts. It helps children and adults get training, lessons, and chances to see performances in drama and dance. It also helps provide sports and fun places for young people who might not have many opportunities.
The Taylor Family Foundation has given millions of pounds to many different charitable causes. These include supporting the Royal Opera House, Merton College, Oxford, the Tate Foundation, and many other organizations that help children, provide healthcare, or support the arts.
Other Ways He Helped
Besides his foundations, Ian Taylor also gave his time to help art organizations. In 2016, he became the chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Royal Opera House (ROH). He and his wife were especially known for supporting the ROH's Schools Matinées program. This program allowed young people to watch performances at a much lower price, thanks to funding from the Taylor Family Foundation.
Ian also served on the board of the Rambert Dance Company and was an honorary member of the Tate Foundation. He believed it was important to support dance education to ensure new talent for the future. He once said, "I'm a great believer in creating wealth so you can distribute it," meaning he thought it was good to earn money so you could use it to help others.
Personal Life
Ian Taylor met his wife, Cristina Alicia Hare, in 1979 in Venezuela. He was working there for Shell at the time.
He felt "proudly Scottish" even though his accent was from North West England. He was a big fan of Manchester City football club. Ian lived mostly in London but also had a home in Scotland.
Death
Ian Taylor passed away from cancer on June 8, 2020. He is remembered by his wife and four children.
Images for kids
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Ian Taylor, in 2007
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Ian Taylor at Vitol's Christmas party in 2010
