David Pearson

Board Mentor
Criticaleye

David is an experienced Non-Executive Chairman, Director and Adviser with a classical sales and marketing background gained with four of the world’s great brand owners, significant international experience including assignments in North and South America, and extensive experience of building technology businesses. Since embarking on a portfolio career in 2005 he has served in a variety of roles in all three sectors - private, public and voluntary. There are four different roles one can take on the Board of a public company - Chairman, Chief Executive, Executive Director, and Non-Executive Director. David has performed all four in four different listed companies. As a Criticaleye Board Mentor since 2007 he has mentored 23 executive members and advised many others.

After receiving an honours degree in Law from Oxford University and blue chip management development in sales and marketing with Procter & Gamble, Mars and Pillsbury, David became Managing Director of Sony UK Consumer Products where he built sales from £150 million to £523 million in ten years. He gained additional responsibility for a region in Western Europe and then promotion as Managing Director for the entire Sony United Kingdom Company, responsible for turnover exceeding £2.2 billion and 5000 employees.

He then gained plc Board experience, first as Managing Director of International Brands for Pentland Group plc, a FTSE 350 company; then for five years as CEO of NXT plc, a FTSE 350 technology licensing company. In all David has served at board level of over 25 organisations including four quoted companies and been Chairman of 6. He has successfully mentored 4 chief executives of healthcare, sport and music charities.

David has received fellowships of the Royal Society of Arts, the Marketing Society and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and was elected to the UK Marketing Hall of Fame in 1995. He has served on the National Council of the CBI and the ISBA Council. In 2012 he received an Honorary Fellowship of the University of Bedfordshire for his significant contribution as an Independent Governor. He is Middle Warden of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

He lives with his wife Carmen and their daughter in Hertfordshire. For more detail of David’s career and to register to receive his weekly blog visit his personal website www.davidcpearson.co.uk. His book The 20 Ps of Marketing was published by Kogan Page in December 2013 http://www.koganpage.com/20Ps