DFID Management Board Membership
Biography: David MacLeod, Non Executive Director
David Macleod started his career as a graduate trainee at Dulux in 1974 and
was promoted to UK Marketing Manager in 1981. In this capacity, he achieved a
57% increase in sales and launched the innovative, award-winning Dulux Natural
Whites that drove subsequent sales and market share growth.
In 1986, David was promoted to the Head of European Marketing at Dulux, where he achieved an significant increase in the market share and launched a number of successful brand enhancing products.
David was recruited into Glidden & Company in 1989 as a Vice President of Planning and Acquisitions based in the USA. The Glidden and Company had 5000 employees and sales of approximately $800m. Amongst his main responsibilities was evaluating potential acquisitions through a detailed due diligence process.
David returned to ICI Plc in the UK in 1990, initially as a General Manager of ICI Industrial Paints, and went on to have a successful career there, which was over a decade long and culminated in his appointment as CEO of a number of ICI businesses. Within Industrial Paints, David was responsible for business performance and assessing the potential of eight businesses with a view to strategic realignment. Three of these were ultimately sold, two were retained with significantly enhanced business performance, and there were integrated within other ICI businesses.
In 1992, David was promoted to Managing Director, Europe, at Melinex – a business manufacturing films for industrial use. The business had experienced steadily declining profits for ten years. David was responsible for Sales of £160m and was successful in designing and implementing a complete business change and re-engineering programme. This resulted in significantly improving business processes, functional expertise and the group’s effectiveness in the market place. Profitability was ultimately transformed from a loss to 20% return on net assets.
After 5 years with Melinex, David moved to ICI Performance Products as Planning Director. He led the due diligence and initial integration programme for Quest (a Unilever speciality chemical business acquired in 1997) and initiated a set of upgrade programmes within existing businesses.
David became CEO of ICI Surfactants in 1998 and over the next year realised profit enhancement goals, introduced strategic clarity, implemented an employee alignment programme on a global basis and launched a European restructuring programme. The latter was an investment of £15m and was aimed at reducing complexity, upgrading manufacturing and commercial processes, and reducing costs. The programme objectives were fully achieved.
Following his success at ICI Surfactants, in 1999 David became the CEO of Uniqema. The business was formed by amalgamating ICI Surfactants, Unichema (purchased from Unilever), and three other businesses. David had full profit responsibility, including cash and investment decisions, and reported to the Executive Vice President of ICI Plc. Under David’s leadership, profits were enhanced by 20% by the end of 2000. The cultural and business integration programme, which he implemented, was extremely successful based on quantified employee feedback and business results. David also developed an integrated, e-enabled market-based strategy resulting in highly focused innovation and enhanced market share and pricing levels.
In 2001, David left industry to join the Cabinet Office as a Senior Advisor on Change and Performance. He advised on a range of significant Government initiatives in a number of major Departments of State. David has worked with Sir Michael Barber and the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit on the processes designed to enable the Government to deliver PSA targets.
Between 2003 and 2007 David worked at Towers Perrin as a Full-time Senior Advisor. He has worked extensively at Permanent Secretary Level and with Private Sector Organisations on major programmes of organisation wide change. He chaired the last three Chevening forums for Permanent Secretaries and Chief Executives exchanging best practice in leadership and the management change. David has particular expertise in the management of mergers and has used this knowledge as a visiting professor at the Cass Business School, City University and as a fellow of the Institute of Marketing and the RSA.
David has just finished co-authoring a book “The Extra Mile” (with the support of Towers Perrin) on how to engage people in organisations. This will be published by Pearsons in December 2007.
