Sir Derek Alan Higgs (3 April 1944 – 28 April 2008) was an English businessman and merchant banker.[1] He was knighted in 2004. His father, Alan Higgs, was a multimillionaire through property businesses in the Midlands.
Derek Higgs | |
|---|---|
 Higgs in 2004 | |
| Born | 3 April 1944 Birmingham, UK |
| Died | 28 April 2008 (aged 64) London, UK |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Higgs review (2003). |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Higgs, née Arguile (married 1970–2008) |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
editSir Derek was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire and was educated at Solihull School,[2] and in 1963 he went to the University of Bristol and graduated in Economics and Accounting in 1966.[3]
Business career
editAfter graduating from the University of Bristol in 1966, Sir Derek joined Price Waterhouse, a large accountancy firm, and after training he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.[1] In 1969 he became a corporate finance executive at Baring Brothers, a merchant bank. He moved-on and joined S. G. Warburg & Co. in 1972 and continued his career in merchant banking.[1][4] He was also a board member of several companies including Prudential, British Land, and Coventry City Football Club.[5]
In 2002 the British Labour Government commissioned Sir Derek to chair the Review of the role and effectiveness of non-executive directors. The report, widely known as the "Higgs review" or "Higgs report", was published on 20 January 2003 and many of its recommendations for large companies have been implemented.[1][6][7]
In October 2005 he became the chairman of the Alliance & Leicester bank and worked there through difficult times, which were partly caused by the credit crunch that took effect during 2007 in Britain.[3]
Trustee
editHis father, Alan, died in 1979. As he felt inherited wealth did more harm than good, Alan Higgs left his entire fortune to a charity to be created after his death to help deprived children from Coventry and nearby localities.[1] The Alan Edward Higgs Charity (also sometimes incorrectly called the Alan Higgs Trust) was set up, and Sir Derek and his sister became the trustees.[2] In January 2008 he also became one of the trustees of the Scott Trust, a British non-profit organisation which owns the Guardian Media Group.[3] He has been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation.[citation needed]
Personal life
editSir Derek married Julia Arguile in 1970 and they had two sons and one daughter. He died unexpectedly owing to a heart attack aged 64 years on 28 April 2008 in a London hospital.[3][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Sir Derek Higgs: Doctor of Laws". University of Bristol. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ a b "The MT interview by Matthew Lynn: Derek Higgs". Management Today. 1 November 2002. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d Treanor, Jill (29 April 2008). "Sir Derek Higgs dies suddenly aged 64". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ "Board Mentors: Sir Derek Higgs". CMi. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ a b "Sir Derek Higgs". London: timesonline. 30 April 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ Higgs, Derek (20 January 2003). "Review of the role and effectiveness of non-executive directors" (PDF). Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ^ "The Higgs Review". Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008.