Victor Blank

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Biographical Information

"Born in 1942, Sir Maurice Victor Blank was educated at Stockport Grammar School before going on to study at St Catherine's College, Oxford, where he achieved an MA in Modern History.

"He was made the youngest partner in the history of law firm Clifford-Turner in 1969, where he specialised in corporate law. After 12 years at Clifford Turner, Sir Victor moved to become Head of Corporate Finance at Charterhouse. During his tenure he oversaw the aggressive acquisition of Woolworth’s. He served as both Chairman and Chief Executive during his 15 years at Charterhouse (1981-1996) and simultaneously served as Director of the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1985-1993.

"In 1993 he became Vice Chairman of Great Universal Stores plc, which was one of the largest high street conglomerates in the FTSE 100. The firm was separated into four subsidiary companies and included the high profile Argos & Homebase stores. The shares were re assigned to shareholders during his successful tenure and Sir Victor was made Chairman in 2000.

"Sir Victor was appointed Chairman of Mirror Group Newspapers in 1999. During his time as Chairman, it became the U.K’s largest newspaper group as part of the Trinity Mirror Group.

"In 1999, he was knighted for services to the financial industry. Sir Victor became Chairman of Lloyds TSB in 2006, which, in 2008, took over the Halifax Bank Of Scotland to become the U.K.’s largest retail bank.

"From 2002-2007 he was a member of the Financial Reporting Council and the Council of Oxford University. The US equity group TPG Capital hired him in a senior advisory role in November 2007. Sir Victor also chaired the Industrial Development Advisory Board from 200-2006.

"In 2010, the UK government made him a Business Ambassador, tasked with promoting British commercial interests around the world. He was invited to continue this role by Prime Minister David Cameron, after the 2010 general election.

"Sir Victor has a number of charitable and social interests outside of business. He is chairman of the Wellbeing of Women charity which funds research into female health. He is Chairman of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' health research charity, as well as an Honorary Fellow and a Patron of the Royal College. He is also the chairman of various establishments including: The Social Mobility Foundation, UJS Hillel, the Council of University College School, the European Advisory Board of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. He is Vice President of Oxford Philomusica; Vice President of the Jewish Leadership Council, and is an Honorary fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford."  

Affiliations

• Member, United Jewish Israel Appeal