| The Lord Leitch | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 October 1947 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Noelle Leitch, Baroness Leitch |
| Children | 3 daughters |
| Occupation | Peer and Businessman |
Alexander Park Leitch, Baron Leitch (b. Fife, Scotland 20 October 1947)[1] is a British Labour peer and a former Chairman and Chief Executive insurance group Zurich's British operations. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of a range of companies including Lloyds TSB and insurance company Paternoster. Lord Leitch is also Chairman of Bupa, Scottish Widows and Intrinsic Financial Services.[2]
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Leitch is the son of a Scottish coal miner and endured a childhood in near poverty following the Second World War. He was left paralysed down one side of his body during his 30s due to a lesion on his brain and thus "learned from personal experience the value of life insurance." He was educated at Dunfermline High School and was offered a place at university two years early, at just 16 years of age.[1] However, he turned his place down and instead headed to London to work in the IT department of an insurance company. He remained in the insurance industry throughout his career, rising to become Chief Executive of Allied Dunbar before it was eventually merged with Zurich Financial Services in 1998. He was then appointed Chief Executive of Zurich Financial Services UK and retired in 2004.
Leitch became a life peer as Baron Leitch, of Oakley in Fife on 7 June 2004.[3] In 2000, prior to becoming a peer, Leitch headed the New Deal scheme which aimed to encourage companies to take on school leavers.[4] Having demonstrated his commitment to public service, he became Chairman of the National Employment Panel in 2004 and also led the Leitch Review of Skills which was published on 5 December 2006. The objective of the review was "to identify the UK's optimal skills mix for 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice, set out the balance of responsibility for achieving that skills profile and consider the policy framework required to support it."[5]
Leitch became involved in the 2004 scandal over the then Home Secretary's extra-marital affairs. It was revealed by the British press that Leitch had had a relationship, during 1999, with Kimberley Quinn, the publisher who later had an affair with David Blunkett.[4]
Lord Leitch is a close friend of Tony Blair and it is suspected that he helped Blair to gain work with Zurich following his retirement as Prime Minister. He became one of Blair's "most trusted business advisers" during his tenure at No. 10.[4] Leitch is also described as a "confidante" of Gordon Brown.[1]
Leitch has been married twice: firstly to Valerie, whom he divorced in 1997, and secondly to Noelle Dowd in 2003.[4] He has three daughters from his first marriage.[1] He lives in South Kensington, London and has a home in Edinburgh.
Lord Leitch earns £130,000 per year from his Non-Executive Directorship at Lloyds TSB.[6]