Paul Clive Deighton, Baron Deighton, KBE (born 18 January 1956) is a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who served as Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury from January 2013 to May 2015. Deighton is a former investment banker who previously served as Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the organisation responsible for planning the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and Paralympics. Deighton is now Chairman of The Economist Group.

Early life

Deighton was born in

Carshalton Carshalton ( ) is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated around southwest of Charing Cross and around east by north of Sutton town centre, in the valley of the Rive ...

, Surrey on 18 January 1956. He was educated at

Wallington County Grammar School Wallington County Grammar School (WCGS) is a selective state boys' grammar school with a Mixed-sex education, coeducational Sixth form, Sixth Form located in the London Borough of Sutton. From 1968 to the mid-1990s the school was known as Wal ...

before going on to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Career

Banking

Deighton began his career at

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

and moved on to Security Pacific National Bank, where he specialised in corporate banking. In 1983, he joined investment bank

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

, initially based in London. He spent two years at their New York office from 1994, where he was joint Head of Controllers. In 1996 he returned to London, where he was promoted to Head of European Operations and became a partner in the firm. In 2000 he became their

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

for Europe.

Olympics London 2012

Deighton was appointed CEO of LOCOG, announced on 19 December 2005. Deighton commented that it was "the only job I would have considered leaving Goldman Sachs for". He has been credited with contributing to the success of the London Olympics. His approach included early winning of sponsorships, and high levels of staff training.

After the Olympics

In September 2012 Deighton was appointed by Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

as junior minister in HM Government as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, with effect from January 2013. The announcement stated that he would lead on infrastructure and economic delivery, with responsibility for implementing the Government's National Infrastructure Plan and supporting the Culture Secretary with the 2012 Olympics legacy. The delay in his taking up the appointment was necessary to allow him to complete his duties at LOCOG. To make him accountable to Parliament, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 1 November 2012 as Baron Deighton, of

in the County of Surrey, and introduced in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

the same day.House of Lords Minutes of Proceedings for Thursday 1 November 2012
/ref> Deighton was succeeded as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury by Jim O'Neill in May 2015. In March 2016 Deighton was announced as the new Chairman of London Heathrow Airport. In March 2018 it was announced that Deighton would become chairman of the board of The Economist Group.

COVID-19 pandemic

On 19 April 2020 when it was announced that the death toll in the UK alone of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

had reached 15,000 over the three months precedent, Deighton was appointed "PPE tsar" by

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

, who himself was recovering from a bout in the

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

with the disease.

Pandora Papers scandal

Deighton was named in the Pandora Papers scandal as having abused his position as a Tory peer.

Honours

In 2012, Deighton received the Olympic Order from Count Jacques Rogge, and received the Paralympic Order from the International Paralympic Committee. Deighton was appointed

Knight 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 ...

in the 2013 New Years Honours for services to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Personal life

Deighton and his wife met whilst working at Goldman Sachs. They have two adult sons. Deighton supports Arsenal F.C.

References

External links

Lord Deighton
at www.parliament.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Deighton, Paul 1956 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British bankers Conservative Party (UK) life peers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Carshalton Recipients of the Olympic Order Recipients of the Paralympic Order People educated at Wallington County Grammar School People named in the Pandora Papers British chief operating officers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Goldman Sachs people