Niall FitzGerald
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Niall FitzGerald, KBE (born 13 September 1945 in County Sligo) is an Irish businessman.
Niall FitzGerald became the Chairman of Reuters in October 2004, having spent over thirty years with Unilever in a variety of commercial and financial jobs in several countries. In the early 1980’s he became CEO of Unilever’s foods business in South Africa and thereafter returned to London as Unilever Group Treasurer.
Niall FitzGerald joined the Boards of Unilever PLC and Unilever NV in 1987 and served respectively as Finance Director, Foods Director and Detergents Director until his appointment as Chairman and CEO in 1996. During his Unilever career, he worked and lived in Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, the USA and the UK.
Board Mandates:
Niall FitzGerald joined the Board of Reuters as a non-executive director in 2003 and became Chairman in 2004. He is Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust (UK) and was appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum in 2006. He also co-Chairs the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) for Africa. Niall FitzGerald is Chairman of the International Business Council, a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and also a Trustee of the Leverhulme Trust. He is a member of various advisory bodies, including the President of South Africa’s International Investment Advisory Council, the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Blackstone European Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University and the Advisory Board of Spencer Stuart. He is a Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley International.
He has been Chairman of the Conference Board (2003-2005) and Co-Chairman of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) (2004-2005). He has been non-executive director of Merck (2000-2003), Ericsson (2000-2002), Bank of Ireland (1990-1999) and the Prudential Corporation (1992-1999). He has also been President of the Advertising Association (2000-2005), a Member of the Kok Commission on the Lisbon Agenda, a Member of the Accounting Standards Review Committee, Chairman of the CBI Europe Committee, and Member of the International Policy Council for Agriculture and Trade.
Awards:
Mr. FitzGerald was awarded an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire in 2002, and holds a number of Honorary Doctorates from American, British and Irish universities.
Personal:
Niall is married to Ingrid and they have a 6-year old daughter; Gabriella. He has 3 children; Tara, Colin and Aaron from a previous marriage. He lists amongst his interests Music (opera and jazz), Irish Rugby, supporting Manchester United, running (slowly), playing golf (poorly), creating an exotic garden in Sussex and observing humanity.
