Browne lines up key business figures

Justin King and Ian Cheshire are among some of the big business names Lord Browne has approached to inject commercial acumen into government as ministers press ahead with plans to shake-up Whitehall boards in spite of resistance from some civil servants.

The chief executives of J Sainsbury and B&Q, the DIY chain, have been quietly tapped up by Lord Browne to be senior non-executives on Whitehall boards, along with other big names thought to include Dick Olver of BAE Systems, Paul Walsh of Diageo, Roger Carr, former chairman of Cadbury, Sir Victor Blank, former chairman of Lloyds TSB, and Andrew Witty of GlaxoSmithKline.

The former chief executive of BP is keen to get some of the City’s top talent into government in an effort to inject some commercial savvy into the way departments are run.

He is rounding up about 60 business figures to put on boards as non-executive directors. The first 15 senior non-executives were meant to have been unveiled by the Cabinet Office in November.

Source : Elizabeth Rigby & Alex Barker - FT.com