Michael Smurfit
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Sir Michael Smurfit, KBE, LL.D (honorary), (born 1936 in St Helens, Lancashire, England), is a businessman holding dual Irish and British citizenship.
Smurfit was educated at Clongowes Wood College and joined his father's company Jefferson Smurfit & Sons Ltd in 1955. He was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1977, a position he held until his retirement as CEO in November 2002. Leading national and international universities have recognised him for his philanthropic work and business success. He is honorary Irish consul to Monaco and has been honoured by the governments of Colombia, France, Great Britain, Italy and Venezuela.
During his tenure at the helm of the Jefferson Smurfit Group, Smurfit led the early expansion of the Group in Ireland and the UK and followed it with a series of acquisitions in the USA, Latin America and Continental Europe – creating in the process Ireland’s first international company and a global leader in paper-based packaging. As Chairman, Smurfit has recently overseen the merger of the Smurfit Group with Kappa Packaging BV to form the Smurfit Kappa Group – employing 42,000 employees in 33 countries on 5 continents.
In 2005, Smurfit was appointed to be a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in HM The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2005 which was published on Friday, 10th June 2005.
Smurfit is a member of many sporting and social clubs in Ireland, the UK, USA, Monaco and Spain. He has four sons and two daughters. The postgraduate business school of University College Dublin, the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, is named after him as a result of his financial support. He owns the K Club in County Kildare.
