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Luke Johnson studied medicine at Oxford and subsequently joined investment bank Kleinwort Benson as an analyst. In 1992 he organised the acquisition of PizzaExpress and floated the business on the stock market at 40p.
He was chairman of this business until 1999, at which time the share price was over 800p and the business had a market capitalisation of over £500m.
He sits on the board of Interquest, Superbrands, Giraffe, GRA, Seafood Holdings, Patisserie Valerie and APT Controls. Previously he was Chairman of Signature Restaurants and a Director of IDH. He is also Chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation. - -
Actors who create drama of business
Making sales, hiring new staff, generating a profit are all very well – but what really excites the boardroom is corporate intrigue, writes Luke Johnson
The leader who falls will emerge stronger
While we are suspicious of someone who has suffered a serious setback, we also respect hard-won experience, writes Luke Johnson
Politics is a dangerous game
Politics is a dangerous game for business leaders, warns Luke Johnson , as they are unlikely to find what they are looking for
Accentuate the positive
There is no room for complacency, and no one said achievement is easy – but Luke Johnson says there are solutions to almost any problem
Generation game redefines business
The conflict marking the Digital Age reminds Luke Johnson of the battles between the young and old in the 1960s over the Vietnam war
The genuine nobility of manufacturing
Service and support sectors are all very well, but their output feels so much less tangible than a production business, writes Luke Johnson
Leaders who use charm to reach the top
Humour and charm are a surprisingly powerful combination as a means of ascent in life. I have met a number of entrepreneurs who have built fortunes on the back of their wit and general popularity – and not much else, writes Luke Johnson
How to optimise your board
They are the central device for supervision of companies. But the make-up of boards and how they meet are crucial to coming up with the right answers, writes Luke Johnson
The ties that bind leaders of industry
It seems every profession has a small circle of characters who basically commands things. They compete ferociously for power, fame, money, market share, staff, property, awards. Could one characterise these gangs as mafia-like? Not really, writes Luke Johnson
Inventors are our greatest heroes
It is a great shame that so much innovation now seems to stem from nameless teams inside large corporations. The whole idea of technological progress had so much more personality in the era of giants like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, writes Luke Johnson
