Alison Cooper

Alison Cooper
Born Alison Jane Cooper
(1966-03-31) 31 March 1966
Nationality British[1]
Education Tiffin Girls' School
Alma mater Bristol University
Occupation Businesswoman
Years active 1987–present
Salary £1,905,000
Title CEO, Imperial Brands
Term 2010–present
Predecessor Gareth Davis
Successor Incumbent
Board member of Imperial Tobacco, Inchcape plc
Spouse(s) married
Children 2

Alison Jane Cooper (born 31 March 1966) is a British businesswoman. She is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of Imperial Tobacco, the world’s fourth-largest tobacco company as measured by market share.

Early life

Cooper grew up in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey, in a family where "money was stretched".[1] She was educated at the nearby Tiffin Girls' School, an all-girls' grammar school, and later gained a bachelor's degree in mathematics and statistics from Bristol University.[2] After she gained her degree she spent a gap year teaching in Kenya on a voluntary basis.[1]

Career

Cooper went to work for accountancy firm Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Bristol as an auditor.[1] This company later became PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked in acquisitions and strategy planning.

She joined Imperial Tobacco in 1999 as group finance manager and was promoted to group financial controller in 2001.[3] She rose to chief operating officer in 2009, before becoming chief executive officer in March 2010.[4] Cooper took over from Gareth Davis, who had held the position for fourteen years.[5] She said at the time, "We need a change in mindset. Tobacco has been traditional in the way it has operated. We want to move from being a tobacco manufacturer to a FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] company."[5]

Cooper has been a non-executive director of Inchcape plc since July 2009.[6]

In October 2012, Cooper noted that she and Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts were the only two female CEOs running FTSE 100 Index companies.[2] Despite this, she has stressed that she does not support the introduction of quotas intended to increase female participation in boardrooms.[7]

In February 2013, she was assessed by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom.[8]

Personal life

Cooper is married with two daughters.[2] She drives a Porsche Carrera and enjoys a pint of Guinness and the occasional cigar.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "15. Alison Cooper". Financial Times. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Alison Cooper: Women CEOs are not a commodity". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Imperial Tobacco chief Alison Cooper - 'Display bans are a drag but I will keep sparking up bigger profits' - Analysis & Features - Business - London Evening Standard". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 "CITY INTERVIEW: Board quotas would just be a drag, says Imperial Tobacco chief Alison Cooper". This Is Money. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Alison Cooper: lighting up Imperial Tobacco". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "Board of Directors". Imperial Tobacco. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "CITY INTERVIEW: Board quotas would just be a drag, says Imperial Tobacco chief Alison Cooper | This is Money". thisismoney.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour - The Power List 2013". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
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