Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington

Peter Selwyn Gummer, Baron Chadlington FCIPR FIoD FCinstM FRSA (born 24 August 1942) is an English businessman.

The Right Honourable The Lord Chadlington FCIPR FIoD FCInstM FRSA
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 October 1996 Life Peerage
Personal details
Born	Peter Selwyn Gummer 24 August 1942
Nationality	English
Political party	Conservative
Occupation	Businessman

He is currently President of the Witney Conservative constituency association, and is a PR adviser, long-standing supporter and donor to the Conservative Party.[1]

Early life and education

Gummer was born on 24 August 1942 to Selwyn Gummer, a Church of England priest, and his wife Margaret Mason.[2] Gummer has two brothers; John Gummer, Baron Deben, former Chairman of the Conservative Party,[3] and Mark Selwyn Gummer, a businessman. He was educated at The King's School, Rochester before matriculating to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he read Moral Science and Theology,[4] with the aim of becoming a priest.[5] Reading the works of philosophers such as Albert Camus led him to change his mind,[5] and after gaining a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts he instead went into journalism.[2]

Career

While writing for a trade press department Gummer found that he enjoyed the business side of things far more than the journalism, and decided to go into business.[6] After several years working for other companies he founded a public relations (PR) firm called Shandwick in 1974, serving as its chairman. Within seven years Shandwick was the largest PR company in the United Kingdom,[6] and in 1984 it became publicly listed.[7] In 1998 it was sold to the Interpublic Group of Companies,[6] and is now part of Huntsworth.[7] Initially chairman of Huntsworth, Gummer was appointed chief executive on 25 September 2005 after the resignation of Richard Nichols, the group's previous chief executive.[8] Gummer left this position in April 2015, instead becoming an executive director, and left the company the following year.[9]

As well as his public relations work Gummer is also a non-executive director of Britax, a former director of Halifax and a visiting fellow at the University of Gloucestershire.[4] He has been made a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the Institute of Directors, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Royal Society of Arts.[2] In September 1996 Gummer became Chairman of the Royal Opera House.[10] Following a report by the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee led by Gerald Kaufman which described the management of the Royal Opera House as "abysmal" with "incompetence, disastrous financial planning and misjudgement", Gummer resigned in December 1997.[5] On 16 October 1996, he was created a Conservative working peer, with the title of Baron Chadlington, of Dean in the County of Oxfordshire.[11]

Charitable work

From 1999 until 2007, Gummer was a Director of the original Action on Addiction in London, a charity and addiction research center investigating drug and alcohol dependence. He also served on their Board of Trustees.[12] In 2007, the original Action on Addiction (established in 1989) merged with The Chemical Dependency Centre (established in 1985) and Clouds (established in 1987). The single charity, dedicated to the research and treatment of drug and alcohol dependence, took on the name Action on Addiction.[13]

Personal life

He married Lucy Dudley-Hill on 23 October 1982.[2] They met after she came to Shandwick for a job interview, and after five days they were engaged.[5] They have four children; Naomi, born 10 January 1984, Chloe, born 17 November 1985, Eleanor, born 5 August 1988 and James, born 4 August 1990.[2]

Naomi Gummer is director of public policy (Northern Europe) for Uber, previously she was an adviser at Google, and a political adviser to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Arms

Coat of arms of Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington

Crest A cock wings elevated and addorsed Or beaked combed jelloped and legged Gules grasping in the dexter claws a lily of the valley Argent slipped and leaved Or. Escutcheon Gules a cross potent nowy quadrate Argent between four escallops fukes inwards Or. Supporters On either side a falcon reguardant Argent beaked and legged Gules belled Or and holding in the beak a rose Gules barbed seeded slipped and leaved Or. Motto Never Give Up [14]

References

1. Doward, Jamie (19 September 2010). "Row after Tory peer's daughter is given job in culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's department". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
2. "ThePeerage.com – Person Page 19112". ThePeerage.com. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
3. Chalfont, Alun (20 April 1999). "Canon Selwyn Gunner". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
4. "Lord Chadlington of Dean". University of Gloucestershire. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
5. Ross, Deborah (8 December 1997). "Interview-lord Chadlington: Lord, what a nightmare at the opera". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
6. "Pop! PR Face2Face: Lord Chadlington, Chief Executive, The Huntsworth Group". PR Jots. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
7. "Huntsworth: Group Board". Huntsworth. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
8. Feisst, Melanie (26 September 2005). "Huntsworth appoints Lord Chadlington". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
9. Harrington, John (19 April 2016). "Lord Chadlington leaves Huntsworth 12 months after stepping down as CEO". PR Week. Retrieved 11 September 2020. The Conservative peer announced his intention to stand down as chief executive of Huntsworth in 2014, having held the CEO role since 2000, but remained in an advisory capacity after Taaffe arrived in April 2015.
10. "Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport First Report". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
11. "No. 54558". The London Gazette. 22 October 1996. p. 13993.
12. Company Check, List of Directors of UK Companies and Organizations: Peter Selwyn Gummer, Director, Action on Addiction. (Retrieved 24 July 2013).
13. UK Government Charity Commission website, Action on Addiction listing. (Retrieved 1 May 2013).
14. Debrett's Peerage. 2000.