Lionel Barber receives St. George Medal of honour

Financial Times editor Lionel Barber receives the prestigious St. George Medal of Honour from St. George’s Society of New York tonight at its annual English Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The award recognizes Barber’s significant contribution to journalism in the transatlantic community. Other 2009 honourees celebrated as leaders in their industry include Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., KBE, former Chairman of IBM; Sir Terry Leahy, Chief Executive of Tesco; and Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce.

Victor E. Stewart, President of the St. George Society, said: “This year’s distinguished medalists have all had a transformative effect in their industries and within their companies. Under Mr. Barber’s leadership, the Financial Times was one of the first to combine its print and online operations in an integrated newsroom and won numerous global awards for its distinguished journalism, including three newspaper of the year awards in 2008.”

Barber commented: “It is a tremendous honour to be recognized by the storied and influential St. George’s Society of New York on the eve of its impressive 239th anniversary. This award is especially meaningful as it reinforces the unique position the Financial Times holds in the global business community.”

St. George’s Society, one of the country’s oldest philanthropic organizations, was founded on 23 April 1770. It is one of the few pre-revolutionary institutions still in operation. The Society’s Medal of Honour, established in 1996, recognizes American and British industry leaders for significant contributions in the fields of business, finance and education. Previous recipients include: Barbara Taylor Bradford, the novelist; Lord George, PC, GBE, then Governor of the Bank of England; Sir John Bond, then Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings; Lord Browne of Madingley, then Group Chief Executive of British Petroleum (BP); Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, then chairman of British Airways; Lord Trotman of Osmotherley, then chairman of Ford Motor Company; Lord Saatchi, head of M&C Saatchi, the British advertising agency; Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of Sony; and the economist Sir Alan Walters, who was economic advisor to Baroness Thatcher when she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

More information on St. George’s Society of New York is available here: http://www.stgeorgessociety.org/

For further information, please contact:

Kristina Eriksson, Financial Times, +44 20 7873 4961 or kristina.eriksson@ft.com