Confederation of British Industry

Confederation of British Industry
Abbreviation	CBI
Motto	The Voice of Business
Formation	1965
Legal status	Non-profit organization
Purpose/focus	British industry
Location	Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London, UK
Region served	UK
Membership	200,000 UK companies
President	Sir Roger Carr
Director-General	John Cridland
Main organ	CBI Council
Website	cbi.org.uk

The Confederation of British Industry is a British not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal charter which promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies.

Role

The CBI works to promote these interests by lobbying and advising governments, networking with other businesses and creating intelligence through analysis of government policies and compilation of statistics, both in the United Kingdom and internationally through their offices in Beijing, Brussels, New Delhi and Washington DC.

It is the foremost lobbying organisation for UK business on national and international issues. It works with the UK government, international legislators and policymakers to help UK businesses compete effectively.

Structure

The present Director-General is John Cridland, former Deputy Director General, who assumed the role in January 2011. He replaced Richard Lambert, who was formerly the editor of the Financial Times and member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee.

CBI policy is decided by its members – senior professionals from all sectors and sizes of business are directly involved in the policy-making process.

It has offices in every region of the UK. The headquarters are next to Tottenham Court Road tube station, not far from the headquarters of the TUC.

History

The organisation was formed in 1965 out of a merger of the Federation of British Industries, the British Employers' Confederation and the National Association of British Manufacturers.

In the mid-1980s, the CBI worked with the Royal Society of Arts and the Comino Foundation on a joint government/industry initiative to promote 1986 as "Industry Year", raising £1m while government departments provided a further £3 million.

Research

The CBI conducts numerous surveys and reports which are of particular use to its members. Research conducted is available to the relevant sections of its membership.

University funding

In September 2009, it concluded that UK universities should be more scrupulous over who is funded for university courses, with concern over some universities seeking quantity of students rather than quality of learning. Industry wanted students with work-friendly skills and knowledge. Students were expected to contribute more to their courses.

Organisation

Senior personnel

• Sir Roger Carr, President
• Helen Alexander (chairman of Incisive Media), Deputy President
• John Cridland, Director-General
• Neil Bentley, Deputy Director-General
• Ian McCafferty, Chief Economic Adviser
• Katja Hall, Chief Policy Director
• Andy Scott, Director, UK Operations
• Susan Anderson, Director, Public Services and Skills
• Matthew Fell, Director, Competitive Markets
• Rhian Chilcott, Director, International
• Neil Carberry, Director, Employment Affairs

(as of June 2011)

Directors-General since 1965

Richard Lambert, Director-General 2006-2011, speaking at the CBI Climate Change Summit 2008.

• John Davies (30 July 1965 – 15 October 1969)
• Sir Campbell Adamson (15 October 1969 – 2 July 1976)
• Sir John Methven (2 July 1976 – 23 April 1980) (died in office)
• Sir Terence Beckett (1 October 1980 – 26 March 1987)
• Sir John Banham (26 March 1987 – 26 June 1992)
• Sir Howard Davies, (29 June 1992 – 31 December 1995)
• Adair Turner (1 January 1995 – 31 December 2000)
• Sir Digby Jones (1 January 2001 – 30 June 2006)
• Sir Richard Lambert (1 July 2006 – 30 January 2011)
• John Cridland (31 January 2011 – present)

External links

• Confederation of British Industry
• CBI Directory
• CBI reports and surveys
• CBI Guides to Interim Management