Until 2015, he served as the non-exec chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, the world's fourth largest pharmaceutical company.
[2] Gent was widely credited with transforming Vodafone from a small subsidiary of Racal, a British electronics company, into a global giant, and with engineering Vodafone's 178 billion pound ($212 billion) purchase of Germany's Mannesmann in 2000.
[6] In August 2022, The Financial Conduct Authority fined Sir Christopher Gent £80,000 for unlawfully disclosing inside information, in his former role as non-executive Chairman of ConvaTec Group Plc.
He was quoted as saying "I cannot see that the long-term economic benefit of hosting the Games outweighs the costs and the horrific burden on the taxpayer, particularly London rate-payers.
However, his real passion is cricket, having grown up next door to The Oval and he is well known to travel long distances to attend matches.
He famously instigated the deal with Airtouch whilst on his mobile phone at the Sydney Cricket Ground.