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Sir Jan Petrus du Plessis (born 22 January 1954
, 11 June 2005, retrieved 28 March 2007.) is a British businessman of Afrikaner descent. He was the non-executive chairman of
BT Group BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
, and the former non-executive chairman of
Rio Tinto Group Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tint ...
plc,Directors
, Lloyds TSB Group Information; retrieved 28 March 2007. Du Plessis was placed tenth in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
'' 2006 Power 100,The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
'', November 2006; retrieved 28 March . a list which rates the most powerful people in British business.


Early and personal life

Du Plessis, an
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...
, grew up near
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
, South Africa. He studied at the
University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
for degrees in commerce and law, and is also qualified as a chartered accountant in his home country. He has dual British and South African citizenship and lives in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
with his wife. Although he was once a prominent figure in the
tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
, du Plessis has never smoked.


Career

Du Plessis worked in various management positions in the South African
Rembrandt Group The Rembrandt Group, officially known as Rembrandt Trust (Proprietary) Limited, is a South African tobacco and industrial conglomerate founded by Afrikaner tycoon Dr Anton Rupert who oversaw its eventual transition to the industrial and luxury bra ...
from 1981, and in 1988 he became Group Finance Director of
Compagnie Financière Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells j ...
. He also held the same position at tobacco manufacturer
Rothmans International Rothmans International plc was a British tobacco manufacturer. Its brands included Rothmans, Player's and Dunhill. Its international headquarters were in Hill Street, London and its international operations were run from Denham Place in Denham ...
between 1990 and 1995. When Rothmans International was merged with
British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the larg ...
in 1999, du Plessis became a non-executive director on that board. In April 2004, du Plessis left his position at Richemont to take on the role of non-executive chairman at British American Tobacco. In June 2005, he was appointed non-executive chairman of the UK food business RHM. In October of the same year, du Plessis joined the board of directors at the Lloyds TSB Group as a non-executive director. Du Plessis is also a member of the governing body of the
International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization A business entity is an entity that is formed and administered as per corporate law in order ...
UK. In March 2009, it was announced that he would be the new chairman of mining group
Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...
. In 2014 he was appointed to the board of
SAB Miller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world ...
and July 2015 took over as the chairman. On 9 March 2017, BT announced that du Plessis would be taking over as chairman from November 2017. On 1 March 2021, du Plessis announced he was retiring. He was succeeded by Adam Crozier. In December 2021, du Plessis was nominated by the UK Government to lead the UK's accounting and auditing regulator, the
Financial Reporting Council The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and ...
, through its transformation into the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority. In February 2022, de Plessis was confirmed as the FRC's new chair. Du Plessis was knighted in the
2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 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 celebration ...
for services to telecommunications and business.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:du Plessis, Jan 1954 births Living people Afrikaner people British Telecom people British American Tobacco people British chief executives British corporate directors Businesspeople in the tobacco industry Businesspeople from Cape Town South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African Knights Bachelor South African people of Dutch descent People of Rio Tinto (corporation) British people of Afrikaner descent