The Right Honourable
The Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise
Simon Wolfson on 5 October 2011
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
6 July 2010
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born
Simon Adam Wolfson

(1967-10-27) 27 October 1967
London, England[1]
Spouse
Eleanor Shawcross
​
(m. 2012)​
Children3
Parent
EducationRadley College
OccupationBusinessman

Simon Adam Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Aspley Guise (born 27 October 1967), is a British businessman and currently chief executive of the clothing retailer Next plc, as well as a Conservative life peer. He is the son of the former Next chairman, The Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale, who was also a Conservative life peer.

Family and education

Wolfson's great-grandfather, Solomon Wolfson, was a Jewish cabinet-maker who settled in Glasgow and had nine children, one of whom was Sir Isaac Wolfson, Simon's great uncle, who made his fortune through Great Universal Stores.[2] Wolfson's father, Lord Wolfson of Sunningdale, was a former chairman of Next and Great Universal Stores, as well as being a Conservative life peer.[3]

Wolfson is the eldest of three siblings.[2] He attended Radley College, near Abingdon, followed by studying law at Trinity College, Cambridge.[4]

Business career

Wolfson joined Next as sales assistant in its Kensington branch in 1991.[2] The following year, he was taken on as assistant to Next's chief executive, David Jones.[5] Wolfson was elevated within the company rapidly, being appointed to the board of directors in 1997, culminating in his appointment as chief executive in August 2001 but leading at least one city analyst to make allegations of nepotism.[5] At the age of 33, this made him the youngest chief executive of a FTSE 100 company.[6] He was one of the first businesspeople to predict the 2008–9 economic crisis.[7]

In 2021 his pay package at Next was £3.4 million.[8]

Relationship with staff

In 2013, he waived his £2.4 million bonus and gave it to the staff of Next who had been with the company since 2010.[9] Wolfson earned £4.6m in 2013 at a time when the average pay of Next employees was £10,000. This led the GMB trade union supported by Paul Heaton to tour Next shops presenting anti-social behaviour awards to managers for their failure to provide a living wage.[10] In 2014, for a second successive year, Wolfson waived his bonus and distributed it among staff, sharing some £3.8m.[10] In May Retail Week reported that Next staff would be up to £1000 a year worse off after the company decided not to pay a premium for staff working on a Sunday. Those refusing a change of employment terms were allegedly told they risked being made redundant. The GMB union accused Wolfson of having a "total disregard for family life."[11] In April 2017, the salaries of some of Next's most senior staff were cut following a 3.8% fall in profits though Wolfson's salary was raised by 1%.[12]

Political views

Wolfson is a prominent supporter of the Conservative Party, having donated to David Cameron's campaign in the 2005 leadership election and co-chaired the party's Economic Competitiveness policy review. He was named by The Daily Telegraph as the 37th-most important British conservative in 2007.[13] He was one of 35 signatories to an open letter calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to press ahead with the coalition government's plans to reduce the public finance deficit in one term in the face of opposition.[14]

On 18 June 2010, Wolfson was created The Baron Wolfson of Aspley Guise, of Aspley Guise in the County of Bedfordshire,[15] and was introduced in the House of Lords on 6 July 2010.[16]

Views on Brexit

Wolfson was reported as being a supporter of Brexit in 2016.[17][18] Following the success of the Leave campaign, Wolfson said Britain's success depended on international trade negotiations.[19] In January 2017 Wolfson said the Government should declare its negotiating objectives and not rush things.[20] In 2022, Wolfson suggested a tax on recruiting foreign workers as trade off to allow greater numbers of foreign workers into Britain.[21]

Open Europe

In December 2016, Wolfson was appointed to the Chair of the Open Europe think-tank.[22]

The Wolfson Economics Prize

Wolfson is the founder of the £250,000 Wolfson Economics Prize.

Personal life

Wolfson married Eleanor Shawcross, daughter of William Shawcross, in London in 2012. They had a son in 2013/14.[2]

He owns houses in London and Aspley Guise.[6]

Arms

Coat of arms of Simon Wolfson
Crest
A demi wolf Argent resting its sinister forepaw on a brick triangular pediment Proper the cornice dentit and oculus Argent.
Escutcheon
Azure a wolf passant Argent and in base three suns in splendour two and one Or.
Supporters
On either side a wolf Argent each grasping a torch Gules flamed Or.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/w/25740/Simon%20Adam%20Wolfson+WOLFSON%20OF%20ASPLEY%20GUISE.aspx
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Millionaire in a cheap suit: Next CEO Simon Wolfson has big plans for London". Evening Standard. 27 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "5 Things You Didn't Know About Simon Wolfson". Retail Gazette. 15 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Stiff, Peter (20 March 2008). "Business big shot: Simon Wolfson". The Times. London. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  5. 1 2 Cope, Nigel (17 May 2001). "City concern as Wolfson junior bags Next job". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  6. 1 2 Mesure, Susie (30 March 2007). "Wolfson £3.7m share sale puts paid to Next bid speculation". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Amy (6 January 2009). "Simon Wolfson: Next chief who saw slowdown coming". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  8. ↑ "Next CEO Lord Simon Wolfson's pay jumps 28 per cent despite profit plunge, shut stores and furloughed staff". CityAM. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  9. ↑ "Next Chief executive Lord Wolfson donates £2.4m bonus to staff". London: The Telegraph (web). 16 April 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 Roberts, Yvonne (31 August 2014). "Low-paid Britain: 'People have had enough. It's soul destroying'". The Observer. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  11. ↑ Luke Tugby (12 May 2015). "Next accused of 'bullying' staff into taking Sunday pay cuts". RetailWeek. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Rhiannon Bury (18 April 2017). "Next trims directors' pay to fit disappointing profits". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Right's 100 Most Influential". London: The Telegraph (web). 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  14. ↑ "Osborne's cuts will strengthen Britain's economy by allowing the private sector to generate more jobs". The Daily Telegraph. London. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  15. ↑ "No. 59467". The London Gazette. 23 June 2010. p. 11801.
  16. ↑ House of Lords Business, 22 June 2010
  17. ↑ Waller-davies, Becky (7 March 2016). "Next boss Lord Wolfson throws weight behind Brexit and 'radical change'". Retail Week. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Wilmot, Stephen (24 March 2016). "With or Without Brexit, Next PLC Is Struggling to Stay in Fashion". The Wall Street Journal.
  19. ↑ Ashley Armstrong;Peter Dominiczak and James Titcomb (26 June 2016). "George Osborne in bid to calm markets with early-morning statement on Brexit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 June 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ Butler, Sarah (4 January 2017). "Brexit:pro leave Next boss urges government to lay out core principles". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  21. ↑ Jack, Simon (10 November 2022). "Brexit-backing Next boss says UK needs more overseas workers". BBC News. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  22. ↑ Booth, Stephen (December 2016). "Open Europe announces new leadership and new mission statement". Open Europe website. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  23. ↑ Debrett's Peerage. 2015. p. 1311.
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