Paul Drechsler, (born 16 April 1956) is an Irish businessman. He is the former

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

President. He served as the Chairman of

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. ICC represents over 45 million businesses in over 170 countries who have interest ...

and BusinessLDN. He has been President of the

Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Offices The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...

since 2022.

Early life

Drechsler graduated with a bachelor of science in engineering from

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

Career

Drechsler worked for

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

for twenty-four years. He joined the

Wates Group Wates Group Ltd is a family owned construction, property services and development companies in the United Kingdom. History Edward Wates established his eponymous business in 1897 as a Streatham housebuilder. In the 1920s and 1930s, it expande ...

, a private construction firm, in 2004. He served as its chairman and chief executive officer from April 2006 until 2014. He served as the chairman of

Bibby Line Bibby Line is a UK company concerned with shipping and marine operations. Its parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, can be traced back to John Bibby who founded the company in 1807. The company along with the group is based in Liverpool. ...

from 2014 to 2020. He served as senior independent director o
Essentra Plc
from 2005 until 2015. He serves as non-executive director o
Greencore Plc
an
Schroders & Co. Ltd
Drechsler was made an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the construction industry in February 2015. Drechsler served as the Chairman of th
Skills Funding Agency
until September 2015. He served on the Board of Trustees o
Business in the Community
until December 2017. He served as the President of th
Confederation of British Industry
a pro-business organisation in the United Kingdom, from June 2015 until June 2018. Drechsler served as the Chair o
Teach First
from 2013 until 2019. He also serves on th
Provost’s Council of Trinity College Dublin
and on the Advisory Council of th
Foundation for Education Development
He is Chairman of the Board o
ICC (UK)
an
London First
In 2018,

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

awarded Drechsler with an honorary doctorate. In 2019 he was honoured with th
Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award
In July 2022, it was announced Dreschler will step down from the board of BusinessLDN. He was Chancellor of

Teesside University Teesside University is a public university with its main campus in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in North East England. It was officially opened as ''Constantine Technical College'' in 1930, before becoming a polytechnic in 1969, and finally g ...

until July 2022.

Personal life

Drechsler is married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drechsler, Paul Living people 1964 births Businesspeople from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish chief executives Irish chairpersons of corporations Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire