Sir Eric Paul McClintock (13 September 1918 – 27 March 2018) was an Australian public servant and businessman. He was notable for serving as chairman of Woolworths Limited from 1980 to 1987.

Early life

McClintock was born on 13 September 1918 in Gulgong,

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, to Robert Emanuel McClintock (d. 1979), a newspaper proprietor and his wife, Ada Marion McClintock (née Whitton; 1888–1987). He was educated at De La Salle College, Armidale, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Career

McClintock worked in the Naval Supply Office,

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...

, 1935–1947. Boris Schedvin, Emissaries of Trade: a history of the Australian trade commissioner service
Retrieved 24 June 2017 He joined the Australian Trade Commissioner Service, serving in Washington as Commercial Attaché on various international emergency food council committees. He was appointed an Assistant Trade Commissioner in 1948, based in New York. He returned to Australia in 1951 as Director of Trade Promotion in the Department of Commerce and Agriculture. He was a speech writer for future Prime Minister John McEwen, then Minister for Trade, and served as First Assistant Secretary,

Department of Trade Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, 1958–1961. He was also associated with the Australian Industry Development Corporation. After leaving the Public Service, he was chairman of Woolworths Limited from 1980 to 1987. During his tenure, the Dick Smith electronics business and Victorian supermarket chain

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

were acquired, and the "Fresh Food People" slogan was instituted. In 1986, for the first time since 1923, no final dividend was paid on the company's shares. Directorships and board appointments include Ashton Mining, the Asia Pacific Space Centre Advisory Board, and Commissioner of Medicare Australia 2004–05. He was NSW campaign chair for the Australian Prospectors & Miners' Hall of Fame (now defunct).

Personal life

McClintock was married to Lady Eve from 1943 until her death in 2013. They had three children; Paul, the former chairman of Myer and Medibank Private; Leigh, who followed his father into the Department of Trade and worked for Alcoa in North Asia; and Marjorie "Marg", an architect. In 2010, McClintock delivered the eulogy at the funeral of his friend and neighbour, the novelist

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

. McClintock died in Sydney on 27 March 2018 at the age of 99.

Honours

Eric McClintock was knighted in the 1981 New Year's Honours for service to exports and industry.It's an Honour: Knight Bachelor
Retrieved 24 June 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClintock, Eric 1918 births 2018 deaths Australian chief executives Australian businesspeople in retailing Australian Knights Bachelor Australian public servants Businesspeople awarded knighthoods