Paul Myners, Baron Myners
Paul Myners, Baron Myners | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul Myners 1 April 1948 Truro, Cornwall, England |
| Died | 16 January 2022 (aged 73) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, politician |
| Years active | 1974–2022 |
| Known for | City Minister (2008–2010), chairman roles at Gartmore Group, Land Securities, Marks & Spencer; Life peer in House of Lords |
Paul Myners, Baron Myners, (1 April 1948 – 16 January 2022), was a prominent figure in British business and politics. He was appointed a life peer in the House of Lords in October 2008 and held the position of City Minister within the Labour Government led by Gordon Brown until May 2010. During his tenure, Myners was responsible for supervising the financial services industry amid the 2008 financial crisis, playing a key role in managing the contentious 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package. He continued as a Labour-affiliated peer until 2014, after which he became non-affiliated and subsequently joined the crossbench peers in 2015.
Myners embarked on his finance career in 1974 at N M Rothschild & Sons, securing a board position by 1977. He later assumed significant leadership posts, including chairman roles at Gartmore Group, Land Securities, and Marks & Spencer. His contributions to public service extended to chairing the trustees of the Tate, the Guardian Media Group, and the Low Pay Commission, alongside serving as a non-executive director at the Bank of England.
Early life and education
Adopted at two years old by a Cornish family, Myners was brought up in Truro, Cornwall. His adoptive father worked as an independent butcher and fisherman, while his mother was employed as a hairdresser. He earned a scholarship to attend Truro School and later graduated with first-class honours in education from the University of London, Institute of Education, also obtaining a teaching qualification. Initially, Myners taught secondary school students in Wandsworth from 1971 to 1972 before moving into financial journalism with The Daily Telegraph. In 1974, he transitioned into finance as a junior portfolio manager at N M Rothschild & Sons.
Business
From 1977 until 1985, Myners was a member of Rothschild’s board. Subsequently, he became CEO and then chairman of pension fund manager Gartmore Group. During his stewardship, Gartmore’s assets under management expanded remarkably from £1.2 billion in 1985 to £75 billion, with Myners reportedly earning around £30 million. After retiring in 2000, he shifted focus toward non-executive directorships and chaired multiple corporations as well as nonprofit entities.
Between 2002 and 2007, Myners led Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings as chairman. In 2004, he took on the role of interim chairman at Marks & Spencer amid a takeover attempt by Phillip Green’s Arcadia Group, successfully fending off the hostile bid before stepping down in 2006. Additionally, from 2006 to 2008, he chaired Liberty Ermitage, a fund-of-funds manager, while also holding leadership roles at Land Securities.
Public service and philanthropy
Myners authored pivotal reports on institutional investment for both HM Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry, which resulted in the formulation of the Myners Principles—guidelines aimed at fostering responsible stewardship of pension funds and endowments. His advocacy emphasized investor engagement and greater transparency regarding investment banking fees.
In 2000, he assumed chairmanship of the Guardian Media Group, publisher of The Guardian and The Observer, while also being appointed as a non-executive director at the Bank of England.
From 2007 to 2008, Myners chaired the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA), overseeing implementation of the UK Government’s national pension savings scheme targeting private sector workers. He stepped down from this role upon becoming a minister; PADA later evolved into the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST).
He also chaired the Low Pay Commission between 2006 and 2008, contributed to commissions addressing prisons, fiscal policy, and vulnerable employment, and served as trustee or chair for cultural organizations such as Tate, National Gallery, Royal Academy Trust, Charity Aid Foundation, along with various advisory councils. These responsibilities were relinquished when he accepted his ministerial appointment.
Government minister
On 3 October 2008, Myners was named Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (commonly known as City Minister) within Prime Minister Gordon Brown's administration. Shortly thereafter, on 16 October 2008, he was granted a Life Peerage with the title "Baron Myners, of Truro in Cornwall". Although new to the political arena, a Labour insider remarked that he possessed "a genuine instinct for social justice." While Myners never contributed financially to the Labour Party, he donated £12,700 to support Brown’s leadership bid in 2007.
During his tenure as City Minister, Myners took charge of the £500 billion 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package implemented in response to the financial crisis. He also supervised several key Treasury bodies, including The Debt Management Office, National Savings & Investment, UK Financial Investments, and the Asset Protection Agency. Additionally, he coordinated the Treasury's relationship with the Financial Services Authority.
In February 2009, Myners became embroiled in controversy regarding the pension awarded to Fred Goodwin, former chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland. Myners asserted that he had not authorized the pension arrangement made during the government’s bailout of RBS, attributing responsibility to RBS’s Board. However, former RBS chairman Sir Tom McKillop disputed this claim, stating that Myners was fully briefed on Goodwin’s compensation package. The Treasury Select Committee criticized Myners for failing to provide decisive government leadership or oversight during these negotiations and suggested that his background in finance might have led him to place undue trust in RBS’s Board.
Despite this criticism, some responses defended Myners. Commentator Hugo Dixon highlighted that Myners and Treasury officials managed multiple complex challenges concurrently during that period. Charles Randell, a partner at Slaughter and May, noted that Myners was adamant that Goodwin should not receive rewards for failure and that all possible measures were taken to minimize costs. At no point during discussions did RBS representatives indicate any intention to enhance Goodwin’s pension as a reward.
After government
Following Labour’s defeat in the 2010 general election, Myners continued serving in the House of Lords as a backbench Labour peer until 2014. Subsequently, he became a non-affiliated member and from July 2015 sat as a crossbencher.
He accepted a position on the board of RIT Capital Partners PLC, an investment fund chaired by Lord Jacob Rothschild, and took on the role of Trustee at ARK, a charity supported by prominent London hedge fund managers.
In February 2011, Myners was appointed chairman and partner at Autonomous Research LLP, an independent equity research firm. By June 2011, he also assumed the roles of chairman and partner at Cevian Capital (UK) LLP, which serves as the UK branch of Europe’s largest activist ownership firm.
In October 2012, Myners became President of the Howard League for Penal Reform. In March 2013, he joined OJSC MegaFon’s board—one of Russia’s leading mobile operators—representing independent shareholders until 2017.
Myners chaired Platform Acquisition Holdings Ltd, which successfully raised $905 million through its May 2013 initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). He subsequently led other SPACs responsible for acquiring Burger King’s global operations as well as Birds Eye and Findus’s European businesses.
In December 2013, Myners joined the Co-operative Group board as senior independent director to oversee an independent governance review following substantial losses and scandal at its banking division. Limiting his remuneration to £1, his report recommended replacing the elected board with appointed independent directors possessing business expertise while establishing a National Members Council to represent members. Although some co-operative supporters criticized these reforms as overly "Plc style," they were ultimately approved by group members.
On 1 February 2015, Myners was appointed Chair of the Court of Governors and Council at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He later became Chancellor of the University of Exeter in 2016.
In 2020, Myners played an active role in securing funding for the Stadium for Cornwall initiative.
Personal life and death
Myners entered into matrimony twice: initially with Tessa Stanford-Smith, an educator, from 1972 until 1993, followed by a marriage to Alison Macleod, who previously chaired the Contemporary Art Society and served as a trustee for The Royal Academy Development Trust, spanning from 1995 to 2020. Together, these unions produced four daughters and one son. His primary residence was in London, complemented by a countryside cottage near Falmouth in Cornwall.
He passed away on 16 January 2022 at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London at the age of 73. His death followed a domestic fall and a subsequent infection with COVID-19 amid the pandemic.
Awards
In 2001, Myners was honored with the title of Commander of the CBE. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law by the University of Exeter, held a visiting fellowship at Nuffield College Oxford, and was recognized as an Executive Fellow of London Business School. In July 2010, he assumed the role of chairman for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Governance and was later made an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in November that same year.