Richard Greenbury

Sir Richard Greenbury (31 July 1936 – 27 September 2017) was an English businessman, and chairman and chief executive of the British retailer Marks and Spencer from 1988 to 1999.

However, after his mother contracted cancer, Greenbury felt obliged to leave school with only six O-levels and abandon sport; opting to start earning at the age of sixteen and missing out on a university education.

Mark's dubbed Greenbury "Big Fellah", and soon moved him to head office as a trainee merchandiser and personal assistant to his son in law.

Then, at the age of forty-one, Greenbury was made a managing director, and by 1978 he had worked in every area of the business; including food, and property, as well as clothing.

Despite later criticism, when the company smashed the £1 billion profit barrier in 1997, the City sang Greenbury's praises; although the impact of his tenure became the subject of intrigue in the aftermath of the downturn.

Despite this, Greenbury talked openly about the problems with the leadership succession that ultimately caused a slump at the retailer, as the four possible candidates for the job engaged in a bitter power struggled that stimulated headlines such as "Sparks Fly at Marks", in a Channel 4 documentary.

After stepping down, Greenbury went on to serve as a director with ICI, Zeneca, C&G, Game, British Gas, Lloyds TSB, and as a member of the supervisory board at Philips.