Marcus Ambrose Paul Agius (; born 22 July 1946) is a British financier and former group chairman of

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

Early life and education

Marcus Agius was born on 22 July 1946, the son of Ena Eleanora (née Hueffer) and Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Victor Louis Benedict Agius. He is of part Maltese descent, and was educated at St George's College, Weybridge. He earned his degree in Mechanical Sciences and Economics at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, and also holds an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

Early career and Lazard (1972–2006)

Agius' banking career began at the investment bank, Lazard, where he worked from 1972 to 2006 holding several senior positions. He was appointed as the chairman of the London branch of Lazard in 2001 and deputy chairman of Lazard LLC in 2002. He joined BAA PLC as a non-executive director in 1995 and served as its chairman from 2002 till 2006.

Barclays Board and chairman (2006–2012)

On 1 September 2006, Agius joined the Barclays board as a non-executive director and succeeded Matthew Barrett as chairman from 1 January 2007. His most recently reported salary was £750,000. On 2 July 2012 it was announced that Agius would resign following the Barclays fine for manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) by some Barclays employees in the Libor scandal. In November 2012, it was reported that he might be retained as a consultant. In July 2012 Agius was reinstated as

Executive Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

, following the resignation of CEO Bob Diamond, until a new chief executive is appointed. During his time at Barclays Agius attended the 2011 meeting of the Bilderberg Group.

British Bankers Association (2010 – 2012)

From 2010 to 2012 Agius was the chairman of the British Bankers Association (BBA). Libor (formally BBA LIBOR) being calculated and published by

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational content-driven technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and maintains its headquarters at 1 ...

on behalf of the BBA. From December 2006 to 2012 Agius was a senior independent non-executive director of the BBC's executive board. In September 2011, Agius was appointed as a committee member to act as one of the three trustees of the Bilderberg Group. The other committee members are Kenneth Clarke MP and Lord Kerr of Kinlochard.

Botany

Agius is a keen gardener. Between 2009 and 2019 he was the chairman of the trustees of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

. On his retirement, he donated £500,000 to the gardens to create the Agius Evolution Garden there. He was appointed Chairman of the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Plant Science Initiative. Agius was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to botany and conservation.

Personal life

Marcus, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, married Katherine (born 1949), daughter of Edmund de Rothschild of the

Rothschild banking family of England The Rothschild banking family of England is the British branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1798 by Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), who first settled in Manchester before moving to London, Kingdom of Great Britain (in pre ...

, and has a close involvement with the Rothschild family estate, Exbury Gardens in Hampshire. They have two children. In 2010 ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic Church, Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by ...

'' named him as one of Britain's most influential Roman Catholics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agius, Marcus 1946 births Living people Rothschild family Chairmen of Barclays Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Harvard Business School alumni People educated at St George's College, Weybridge British chairpersons of corporations British Roman Catholics BBC executives Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group British people of Maltese descent British expatriates in the United States Commanders of the Order of the British Empire