Peter Denis Hill-Wood (born 25 February 1936) is a British businessman and the current chairman of Arsenal Football Club.
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Hill-Wood was born in Kensington, London. His father, three uncles and grandfather all played first-class cricket for Derbyshire CCC. He attended Eton College where he was a classmate of former Arsenal Director Sir Roger Gibbs. He then served in the Coldstream Guards. After leaving the Guards, Hill-Wood entered the banking industry, eventually rising to become a vice-chairman of Hambros Bank, having previously been in charge of its investment division.
Hill-Wood has since retired from his post at Hambros, and is currently a director of Cavenham Ltd and Hellenic and General Trust.
He married in 1971 and has three children Julian, Charles and Sarah, who is married to Timothy Dana, an American.[1]
He is the third generation of his family to serve as Chairman of Arsenal, following his father, Denis Hill-Wood (1906–1982), and his grandfather, Samuel Hill-Wood (1929-1936 & 1946-1949). Peter Hill-Wood succeeded his father after the latter's death in 1982. He is not in charge of any day-to-day business at the club, which is generally run by acting managing director Ken Friar, with manager Arsène Wenger responsible for football and first team affairs.
Hill-Wood was a colleague of Chips Keswick at Hambros and subsequently saw him recruited to the Arsenal Board to provide strong City contacts at a time when the club were financing their new stadium.[2]
Hill-Wood sold much of his family holdings in the club to former Vice Chairman David Dein in the 1980s and 1990s. As at 27 March 2007 he owned 500 shares in the club representing 0.80% (worth approximately £3.4m).[3]
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Denis Hill-Wood |
Arsenal F.C. chairman 1982–present |
Incumbent |