Lord Michael M. Blakenham

Overview

Lord Blakenham became a director of the Company in 1987. From 1983 to 1997, he was Executive Chairman of Pearson plc, a British media company serving worldwide information, education and entertainment markets, and served as the non-executive Chairman of MEPC plc, a commercial real estate investment and development company, from 1993 to 1998. Lord Blakenham is currently a director of LaFarge SA and from 2001 to 2005 was the President of the British Trust for Ornithology. From 1997 to 2003, he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and has also served as Chairman of Japan 2001, a Japanese cultural festival, and as a director of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group. Lord Blakenham currently serves as a Councilor on the Mid Suffolk District Council and is Chairman of Suffolk Together, a newly formed political party.