Roger Carr (businessman)

Sir Roger Martyn Carr (born 22 December 1946) is a British businessman. He was chairman of BAE Systems until May 2023.

Early life and education

Carr was born and grew up in Nottingham,[1] the son of a car dealer father and ballet teacher mother. After leaving Nottingham High School, he worked for Boots as a computer programmer and studied at Trent Polytechnic where he graduated with a BA in Business Studies. He subsequently moved to Honeywell, working on the installation of mainframes in some of Britain's biggest companies.[2]

Career

He has been on the board of eight companies, including BAE Systems, Centrica plc, Mitchells & Butlers, Cadbury plc, Chubb Locks, Thames Water and Williams Holdings.[3]

Carr's first period on a company board began in 1994, when he became CEO of Williams Holdings. In 2000, Williams Holdings demerged into Chubb and Kidde, and Carr became the chairman of Chubb.[4]

In 1998, Carr became chairman of Thames Water, stepping down in 2000.

In 2003, he became chairman of Mitchells & Butlers, a British company that owned over 2,000 pubs and restaurants. He stepped down as chairman in 2008.[5] He became chairman of Centrica in 2004.

Carr was a senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the American private equity firm, but stepped back in 2008 when KKR considered a takeover bid for Mitchells & Butlers.[6] In 2008, Carr became the chairman of Cadbury plc, the United Kingdom's largest confectionery manufacturer. He resigned on 3 February 2010 when the company was bought by Kraft Foods.[7]

Carr was knighted in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to business.[8] He was President of the Confederation of British Industry from June 2011.[9] Carr was succeeded in the role by Sir Michael Rake in June 2013.[10][11]

In June 2013, BAE Systems announced that Carr was to join the board as a non-executive director and chairman designate on 1 October 2013, and that he would succeed Dick Olver as chairman in the first quarter of 2014.[12] He was to relinquish his role as chairman of BAE Systems in May 2023.[13][14][15]

In March 2015, it was announced that Carr had been appointed as the vice-chairman of the BBC Trust and would serve on the BBC's governing body for four years.[16]

Carr is the chairman of the English National Ballet. In addition, he is a Vice President of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, a Trustee of Bletchley Park and a Visiting Fellow of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.[17]

Personal life

Carr is married with one daughter.[15] He owns two homes, one in Kensington, West London and one in the Cotswolds.[15] As of February 2023, his annual earnings, through his combined roles, exceeded £1 million.[15]