Around 25 people have been honored for services to business in the new year's honors list, and others who work in business have been cited for other elements of service in public life. Two of the top honors were given to businessmen who were major donors to the Conservative Party: Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin and Addison Lee founder John Griffin.
Among the most notable winners in the business world are:
Amanda White
The 56 year old man CEO of Aviva she becomes a Lady Commander, cited for her services to gender equality and net zero, as well as business. Blanc's three years at the helm of the insurer, having previously led Axa, have seen the share price rise. Her interventions elsewhere have been perhaps even more notable: from being the first FTSE 100 company to publicly withdraw from the CBI after sexual crime accusationsexposing overt attempts to cover up a bullying scandal at the Welsh Rugby Union and then being a key part of the BP board that recently sacked disgraced boss Bernard Looney.
Stephen Hester
The knighthood goes to the 63-year-old executive, who chairs airline easyJet and bank Nordea, and who first became chief executive of a FTSE 100 company almost 20 years ago at British Land. Hester's biggest role came after the 2008 financial crisis, when he was hired as vice president of the rescued Northern Rock and then went on to take the helm as CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland. He was credited with stabilizing the bank and preparing it for its return to the private sector, and left in 2013 to run RSA Insurance Group.
Geraldine Ronson
One of Britain's best-known businessmen and pillars of Thatcher's 1980s establishment finally gets a knighthood at the age of 84, but not for business. The decade ended with Ronson, owner of the Heron property empire, being sent to prison as one of the โGuinness Fourโ in a stock-trading scandal. The family lost ยฃ1 billion, according to Ronson, in the housing crisis. After serving six months in prison, Ronson embarked on a lifelong campaign to restore his name and business, making large charitable donations, and was first honored with a CBE in 2011. His latest honor is for his services to philanthropy and the Jewish community.
Tristia Harrison
TalkTalk CEO Harrison, 50, is another new major in telecommunications services. Harrison led the broadband provider through the pandemic, when it worked with the Department for Work and Pensions to connect people with affordable broadband, โproviding critical national infrastructureโ, according to the official quote, including contracts to connect new hospitals by Nightingale. Harrison is chairman of the board of Crisis and spent a decade on the board of Comic Relief.
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Ashley Tabor
Global's founder and chairman, 46, moves from OBE to CBE for services to media and entertainment. The group, Europe's largest commercial radio station, owns brands such as Heart, Classic FM and LBC. Tabor-King also made headlines for owning what is believed to be Britain's most expensive apartment, a pair of Knightsbridge penthouses with connecting doors after Westminster council rejected the original planning application.
Maria Portas
โQueen of the shopsโ Portas, 63, is awarded an OBE for services to business, broadcasting and charities. Working in retail from a young age, she rose to prominence as a young creative director at Harvey Nichols and as the host of a series of television shows about retail and shopping. She also helped rename charity shops and was appointed โhigh street tsarโ under David Cameron's government, although she has expressed regret about how that role turned out.
