Peter Levene, Baron Levene of Portsoken

Peter Keith Levene, Baron Levene of Portsoken KBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(born December 8, 1941) is chairman of NBNK Investments plc and was Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...

1998 to 1999.

Life

Lord Levene has enjoyed a long and varied career in business, government and banking. He is Chairman of NBNK Investments plc.

Previously, he served as Chairman of Lloyd's, the world's leading specialist insurance and reinsurance market from 2002-2011, after having been Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...

, one of the world’s leading providers of financial services. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman of Bankers Trust International and was formerly with both Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....

and Wasserstein Perella.

He was educated at the City of London School

City of London School

The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...

and then studied at the University of Manchester

University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...

where he graduated with a degree in Economics and Political Science. He joined United Scientific Holdings in 1963, a small company which grew into a substantial supplier to UK and overseas Ministries of Defence. He eventually rose to the post of chairman of that group, in 1981.

Subsequently, he was asked by Secretary of State for Defence

Secretary of State for Defence

The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...

, Michael Heseltine

Michael Heseltine

Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...

, to act as his Personal Advisor in the MoD

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

, and then as Permanent Secretary in the role of Chief of Defence Procurement

Chief of Defence Procurement

The Chief of Defence Procurement was a senior post in the British Ministry of Defence. The post-holder was Chief Executive of the MoD Procurement Executive from 1971 until 1999 and then Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency until 2007...

, a position which he held for six years. He thereafter held a number of Government posts, as Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Environment; to the President of the Board of Trade; and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Efficiency and Effectiveness from 1992 to 1997. During this period, he also served as Chairman of the Docklands Light Railway

Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...

and then Chairman and Chief Executive of Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...

Ltd. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of J.Sainsbury plc from 2001-2004, and of Total s.a.,from 2005-2011.
He is an Alderman of the City of London and served as Sheriff of London from 1995-96. He served as Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

for the year 1998-99, in which role he presided over the Corporation of the City of London, and supported and promoted London as an international financial centre. He received a knighthood in 1989 and became a life Peer in July 1997 as Lord Levene of Portsoken.

Lord Levene currently holds three non-executive directorships, as Chairman of General Dynamics UK Limited and on the boards of Haymarket Group Ltd and China Construction Bank. He is also a member of the House of Lords Select Committee for Economic Affairs.
He was appointed by the Secretary of State for Defence in July 2010 to chair the Defence Reform Group, a body set up to review proposals for changes in structure in the UK Ministry of Defence. This body reported in June 2011 and their recommendations are now being implemented.

He is married with three children and speaks French, German and Italian.

Family

Married to Wendy they have three children, two sons working in banking and finance and a daughter working in public relations. He is grandfather to ten grandchildren who live in London and New York.

Titles and Honours

Sir Peter Levene KBE (1989–1997)
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Levene of Portsoken KBE (since 1997)
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of London (1998–1999)
Commandeur, Ordre National du Merite (France) 1996
Knight Commander Order of Merit (Germany) 1998
Middle Cross Order of Merit (Hungary) 1999

Fellow QMW 1995
Hon DSc City University 1998
Hon DSc University of London 2005
Insurance Leader of the Year Award 2009, St John's University, New York
Awarded the Lloyd's Gold Medal for Services to Lloyd's, October 2011

External links

Lord Levene awarded Gold Medal - Lord Levene awarded Gold Medal for Services to Lloyd's
Lord Levene Biography - Lord Levene of Portsoken KBE - Chairman of Lloyd's
General Dynamics UK Limited - Home Page
http://www.weforum.org/contributors/lord-peter-levene?fo=1 - Vita, published by World Economic Forum

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