John Kemp-Welch

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Sir John Kemp-Welch
Born31 March 1936
NationalityBritish
Alma materWinchester College
Occupationstockbroker
Known forprevious chairman of the London Stock Exchange (1994-2000)

Sir John Kemp-Welch (born 31 March 1936)[1] is a British businessman, who was chairman of the London Stock Exchange from 1994 to 2000, before which he was senior partner at City of London stockbroker Cazenove.

Career[edit]

Kemp-Welch began his career at Hoare & Co before joining City stockbroker, Cazenove, in 1959.[2] He became joint senior partner at Cazenove in 1980.[2] He stepped down from that position in 1994 to become chairman of the London Stock Exchange.[2]

Less than two years after becoming chairman of the London Stock Exchange, Kemp-Welch removed CEO Michael Lawrence, whose style was said to have led to frictions with the Stock Exchange Board. From Lawrence’s departure in December 1995 to his successor joining in August 1996, Kemp-Welch acted as executive chairman. Whereas Lawrence had come from Prudential, Kemp-Welch’s choice of replacement, Gavin Casey, came from city brokerage Smith New Court securities (which had been bought by Merrill Lynch in 1995).[3]

Kemp-Welch also oversaw the continued modernisation of the stock exchange’s governance, in particular its demutualisation whereby it moved from a member-based institution to a shareholder-owned company.[4][5]

The following month, Kemp-Welch’s successor as chairman - Donald Cruickshank - was announced,[6] which was quickly followed by the ill-fated proposal to merge the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse.

Appointments after the London Stock Exchange[edit]

Between 2000 and 2006, Kemp-Welch was a non-executive board member of HSBC.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sir John Kemp-Welch. Who's Who 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U22822. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Willcock, John (13 January 1994). "Kemp-Welch to Head Stock Exchange". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  3. ^ "London Stock Exchange taps Casey to be next Chief Executive". The Wall Street Journal. 11 June 1996. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  4. ^ Elliott, Larry (16 March 2000). "Stock Exchange members vote to demutualise". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Stock Exchange votes to go public". BBC website. 15 March 2000. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  6. ^ Cowell, Alan (21 April 2000). "British-German market merger on the table". New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  7. ^ Parkinson, Gary (4 January 2006). "Robertson hired to beef up HSBC board". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2019.