John King, Baron King of Wartnaby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord King of Wartnaby
|
|
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
|
| In office 15 July 1983 – 12 July 2005 Life Peerage |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 August 1917 |
| Died | 12 July 2005 |
John Leonard King, also known as Baron King of Wartnaby, was a famous British businessman. He was born on August 29, 1917, and passed away on July 12, 2005. He is best known for leading British Airways, a major airline, and helping to make it a successful company.
Contents
Early Life and Business Start
John King was born in Brentford, Middlesex, England. His father was a postman and his mother was a seamstress. He was one of four children in his family.
John left school at just 12 years old in 1929. He didn't have any special qualifications. His first job was at a factory that made vacuum cleaners.
He then worked as a car salesman. Later, he started his own taxi business. He also became a sub-agent for Ford cars, calling his company Whitehouse Motors.
When World War II began, his car business closed. However, John had also started doing general engineering work. This allowed him to get important contracts from the government to make parts for aircraft during the war. He even used special American machine tools.
Building a Business Empire
After the war, John King moved to Canada for a short time. He then returned to England and built a factory in Ferrybridge. Here, he started a company called Ferrybridge Industries.
He later renamed it the Pollard Ball and Roller Bearing Company. This company made millions of ball bearings each year. It grew into a very large business with operations in many countries.
In 1968, John sold his ball bearing business for a large sum of money. He personally made about £3 million from the sale.
He continued his business career by becoming Chairman of Dennis Specialist Vehicles in 1970. In 1972, he became Chairman of Babcock International. He was recognized for his success and was made a Knight Bachelor in 1979.
In 1980, he was appointed Chairman of the National Enterprise Board. Soon after, he took on his most famous role: leading British Airways.
Leading British Airways
John King joined British Airways (BA) in 1981. At that time, the airline was losing a lot of money, over £140 million a year. His main goal was to prepare the airline to be sold to private investors.
Turning the Airline Around
Under John King's leadership, British Airways changed a lot. He made some big decisions to make the airline profitable again.
- He reduced the number of staff by 22,000 people.
- He hired Colin Marshall as the new CEO in 1983.
- He removed older airplanes from the fleet and bought newer, more efficient ones.
- He stopped flying on routes that were not making money.
Within two years, John King had changed more than half of BA's board members. By 1989, British Airways was making a profit of £268 million before taxes.
Privatization and Success
In 1987, British Airways was privatized, meaning it was sold to private investors. The initial shares offered were bought up very quickly, showing how successful John King had made the airline.
John King was also made a life peer on July 15, 1983. This meant he became Baron King of Wartnaby, in the County of Leicestershire, and could sit in the House of Lords.
He understood how important the Concorde airplane was to British Airways. Even though Concorde sometimes lost money, BA used it to attract business customers. They offered upgrades to Concorde flights to companies that used BA for their corporate travel.
Later Career and Interests
John King stepped down from his main leadership role at British Airways in 1993. However, he remained as president emeritus, which is an honorary title.
He also held positions on the boards of other companies. These included the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Spectator magazine, a company called Norman Broadbent, and the engineering firm Short Brothers.
Family Life
John King was married twice. His first wife was Lorna Sykes, whom he married in 1941. They were married until she passed away in 1969. In 1970, he married Isabel Cynthia Monckton.
Personal Hobbies
John King had several hobbies. He was a Master of Foxhounds (MFH) for the Belvoir and Badsworth hunts. He also chaired the Lord King XI cricket team.
He and his first wife, Lorna, both learned to fly airplanes. They would use their aircraft to travel around the UK.
Lord King had a flat in London for many years. During the week, he lived there while running British Airways. On weekends, he would travel to his country estate, Friars Well Estate, in Wartnaby, near Melton Mowbray. He also owned a house in Scotland.
Arms
  |
|
