David Verey
Sir David Verey | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 8, 1950 England |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Known for | Chief executive of Lazard; chairman of Art Fund; philanthropy in arts |
Sir David John Verey CBE (born 1950) is a distinguished English banker and noted philanthropist.
Early life
Born on 8 December 1950, Verey received his education at Eton College before obtaining a Master of Arts degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge.
Career
Verey launched his career in finance with Lazard in 1972, joining the company's board a decade later in 1983. He progressed to deputy chief executive by 1985, became chief executive in 1990, and held the chairman position until 2001. Following this, he acted as deputy chairman of Cazenove from 2001 to 2002. He continues to contribute as a senior adviser at Lazard.
From 1996 through 2000, Verey was a board member at Pearson PLC. He led Blackstone Group UK as chairman between 2004 and 2008 and provided senior advisory services to FreshMinds from 2004 until 2009. His non-executive directorships include LMS Capital (2009–2012) and Thames River Capital (2010–2011). For twelve years until 2016, he served on the boards of Daily Mail and General Trust, Sofina, and Bank Gutmann. Presently, he chairs Sofina's board, presides over the Government Art Collection Advisory Board since 2013, acts as Trustee of the British Council, and leads the trustees for Friends of Leighton House Museum.
In his public service roles, Verey was the lead non-executive director at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Since September 2013, he has chaired the Government Art Collection Advisory Committee and has been a Trustee of the British Council since November 2014.
Philanthropy
Between 1992 and 2004, Verey was a trustee of the Tate Gallery, serving as its chairman from 1998 to 2003. He has chaired ArtFund's board of trustees since 2004. Additionally, he holds trustee positions with the Teaching Awards Trust and the Pilgrim Trust. A fellow of his former school, Eton College, from 1997 to 2012, he endowed the Verey Gallery there, which bears his name. His involvement extends to membership on Trinity College, Cambridge’s Finance Committee and the Cambridge University Library Visiting Committee. He is also an honorary fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford. In recognition of his contributions to arts philanthropy, he was appointed a CBE in 2004.
His knighthood was conferred in the 2015 New Year Honours for his dedication to arts philanthropy as chair of Art Fund.