Albert Frost
Encyclopedia
Albert Frost CBE
was an influential and respected figure in the corporate world as finance director of Imperial Chemical Industries
(ICI) and a member of the boards of Marks & Spencer
, Warburgs
, British Airways
, British Leyland and British Steel
; he was also a music
al philanthropist
.
. In his younger days, Frost was a keen swimmer and runner. A long-standing member of the Belgrave Harriers
athletics club in Wimbledon, he was remembered for a battling run in deep snow in the 1947 English National Cross Country Championship, in which the club secured second place.
He studied at London University and was called to the bar at Middle Temple
. In 1937 he joined the Inland Revenue
to train as a tax inspector, and in 1949 was recruited to be deputy head of ICI's tax department. He became treasurer
of the group in 1960 before being promoted to finance director – the fourth holder of that post in ICI's short history to have begun his career at the Inland Revenue.
As finance director from 1968, he faced the challenge of accounting for high levels of inflation – and took a firm stance against new accounting standards that he did not feel reflected ICI's position fairly. He also established the group's first pension fund
and radically improved its financial communications, using films to explain year-end results to staff.
Having retired from ICI in 1976, Frost took on a remarkable portfolio of non-executive appointments. He was one of the first outsiders from industry to be invited on to the Marks & Spencer
board, and despite the autocratic style of the chairman, Marcus Sieff, Frost's views carried considerable weight in the company. He also served on the board of the state-owned British Airways
– but was generally wary of nationalised industries, and took more persuading to lend his skills to British Leyland (BL), the strike-torn car maker.
He accepted the challenge in 1977, as part of a complete change of top management at BL, only on condition that "my role as chairman of the funding committee must be meaningful, and no Friday meetings". He went on to press the Labour
government, rather forcefully, to inject £450 million of new capital into the group. BL's chief executive, Sir Michael Edwardes, wrote later that "the outspoken Frost is one of the most financially orientated businessmen in Britain"; complex arguments with the National Enterprise Board
over the shape of BL's balance sheet were "meat and drink to him".
Frost briefed himself meticulously before board meetings, set clear objectives for himself and others, and managed his time so that none of his commitments fell by the wayside. By 1980 the restructuring of BL (boosted by a joint venture with Honda
of Japan) was on track, and Frost moved on to apply similar treatment to another state-owned business, British Steel
– in partnership with the Scots-born American industrialist Ian MacGregor
, who became British Steel's chairman having previously been deputy chairman of BL.
In the City, meanwhile, Frost was a director of Warburgs
, the merchant bank which had been his financial adviser at ICI, until 1983, when he was asked to become chairman of a troubled smaller bank, Guinness Mahon
, and to join the board of its parent, Guinness Peat. There he found a battle in progress between two combative personalities – the Bank of England
-appointed chief executive Alastair Morton
(later chairman of Eurotunnel
) and the major shareholder, the commodity trader Lord Kissin. Even Frost's wise counsel could not bring harmony between them.
In his later years he was a member of the Arts Council
and the appeal committee of the Royal Opera House
, a deputy chairman of the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts, and chairman of the Robert Mayer Trust for Youth and Music and of the City of London Carl Flesch
international violin competition – for which he devised a unique voting system for jurors.
He was also a driving force in establishing the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments to encourage young British string players. He assisted with the British contribution to the 1987 exhibition of Stradivari instruments in Cremona to commemorate the great violin maker's 250th anniversary; and in 2005 he helped the Royal Academy of Music
to purchase the "Viotti ex-Bruce" Stradivarius.
He was chairman of Remploy
, the organisation which provides employment services for the disabled, and deputy chairman of governors of the United Medical Schools of Guy's
and St Thomas's hospitals.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
was an influential and respected figure in the corporate world as finance director of Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
(ICI) and a member of the boards of Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, Warburgs
S. G. Warburg & Co.
S. G. Warburg & Co. was a London-based investment bank. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation in 1995.-Founding and early history:...
, British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, British Leyland and British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
; he was also a music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Early years
Albert Edward Frost was born on March 7, 1914, and educated at Oulton School in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. In his younger days, Frost was a keen swimmer and runner. A long-standing member of the Belgrave Harriers
Belgrave Harriers
Belgrave Harriers, founded in 1887, are one of the leading athletics clubs in Britain, with headquarters located in Wimbledon, close to Wimbledon Common....
athletics club in Wimbledon, he was remembered for a battling run in deep snow in the 1947 English National Cross Country Championship, in which the club secured second place.
He studied at London University and was called to the bar at Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
. In 1937 he joined the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
to train as a tax inspector, and in 1949 was recruited to be deputy head of ICI's tax department. He became treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of the group in 1960 before being promoted to finance director – the fourth holder of that post in ICI's short history to have begun his career at the Inland Revenue.
Career
A tax expert by background and a master of financial detail, Frost helped streamline the management of ICI by providing a central finance function for a group whose operational structure in the postwar decades still reflected its origins in the merger of four companies in 1926.As finance director from 1968, he faced the challenge of accounting for high levels of inflation – and took a firm stance against new accounting standards that he did not feel reflected ICI's position fairly. He also established the group's first pension fund
Pension fund
A pension fund is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.Pension funds are important shareholders of listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold...
and radically improved its financial communications, using films to explain year-end results to staff.
Having retired from ICI in 1976, Frost took on a remarkable portfolio of non-executive appointments. He was one of the first outsiders from industry to be invited on to the Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
board, and despite the autocratic style of the chairman, Marcus Sieff, Frost's views carried considerable weight in the company. He also served on the board of the state-owned British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
– but was generally wary of nationalised industries, and took more persuading to lend his skills to British Leyland (BL), the strike-torn car maker.
He accepted the challenge in 1977, as part of a complete change of top management at BL, only on condition that "my role as chairman of the funding committee must be meaningful, and no Friday meetings". He went on to press the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government, rather forcefully, to inject £450 million of new capital into the group. BL's chief executive, Sir Michael Edwardes, wrote later that "the outspoken Frost is one of the most financially orientated businessmen in Britain"; complex arguments with the National Enterprise Board
National Enterprise Board
-History:The National Enterprise Board was set up in the United Kingdom in 1975 to implement the Wilson Labour government's objective of extending public ownership of industry...
over the shape of BL's balance sheet were "meat and drink to him".
Frost briefed himself meticulously before board meetings, set clear objectives for himself and others, and managed his time so that none of his commitments fell by the wayside. By 1980 the restructuring of BL (boosted by a joint venture with Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
of Japan) was on track, and Frost moved on to apply similar treatment to another state-owned business, British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
– in partnership with the Scots-born American industrialist Ian MacGregor
Ian MacGregor
Sir Ian Kinloch MacGregor, KBE was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at British Steel and his conduct during the 1984-1985 miner's strike while managing the National Coal Board.-Early life:Born in Kinlochleven, Scotland, his...
, who became British Steel's chairman having previously been deputy chairman of BL.
In the City, meanwhile, Frost was a director of Warburgs
S. G. Warburg & Co.
S. G. Warburg & Co. was a London-based investment bank. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation in 1995.-Founding and early history:...
, the merchant bank which had been his financial adviser at ICI, until 1983, when he was asked to become chairman of a troubled smaller bank, Guinness Mahon
Guinness Mahon
Guinness Mahon was an Irish merchant bank originally based in Dublin but more recently with major operations in London.-History:The firm was founded in Dublin in 1836 by brewer Robert Rundell Guinness, cousin of the brewer Arthur Guinness, and John Ross Mahon, an estate agent. A London office...
, and to join the board of its parent, Guinness Peat. There he found a battle in progress between two combative personalities – the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
-appointed chief executive Alastair Morton
Alastair Morton
Sir Alastair Morton was Chief Executive of Eurotunnel and Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority and an industrialist of considerable achievements and renown....
(later chairman of Eurotunnel
Eurotunnel
Groupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
) and the major shareholder, the commodity trader Lord Kissin. Even Frost's wise counsel could not bring harmony between them.
Philanthropy
Throughout his senior career, Frost always found time for music. A keen violinist who particularly enjoyed string quartets, he had been known to announce that a meeting must end promptly because he had "an appointment with Beethoven" to keep. Having stepped back from business when he reached 70 in 1984, he remained active on behalf of a range of musical and other causes, seeking no recognition for many acts of personal generosity.In his later years he was a member of the Arts Council
Arts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
and the appeal committee of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, a deputy chairman of the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts, and chairman of the Robert Mayer Trust for Youth and Music and of the City of London Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch was a violinist and teacher.Carl Flesch was born in Moson in Hungary in 1873. He began playing the violin at seven years of age. At 10, he was taken to Vienna, and began to study with Jakob Grün. At 17, he left for Paris, and joined the Paris Conservatoire...
international violin competition – for which he devised a unique voting system for jurors.
He was also a driving force in establishing the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments to encourage young British string players. He assisted with the British contribution to the 1987 exhibition of Stradivari instruments in Cremona to commemorate the great violin maker's 250th anniversary; and in 2005 he helped the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
to purchase the "Viotti ex-Bruce" Stradivarius.
He was chairman of Remploy
Remploy
Remploy Ltd is a government-owned company in the United Kingdom which provides employment and employment placement services for disabled people. It was established in 1945 under the terms of the 1944 Disabled Persons Act, and opened its first factory in Bridgend, Wales, in 1946...
, the organisation which provides employment services for the disabled, and deputy chairman of governors of the United Medical Schools of Guy's
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
and St Thomas's hospitals.