Archie was educated at several accredited venues such as the University of Minnesota, Emmanuel College and Harvard Business School where he was awarded a Master of Business Administration. Upon graduation, Archie joined the firm McKinsey & Company before progressing onto directorships at Geest and Railtrack. Building his business knowledge, Archie shortly became group finance director at Kingfisher Plc. His biggest career move came as Group Chief Executive of Asda, where he truly made his name as a businessman. This was a career move that surprised many, with Archie taking a gamble on the then failing supermarket to change its fortune by steering towards a purchase from Walmart.
In the 1980s Archie diversified into politics, standing as a conservative politician and serving two terms as MP for Tunbridge Wells. It wasn’t long before Archie was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Conservative Party, with his keen advocacy for environmental and transport issues earning him a favourable reputation. Archie also served as the Shadow Minister for the environment in 1999 and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions in 2000. Utilising his political power, Archie worked alongside Francis Maude to establish the Policy Exchange think tank.
After his stint in politics, Archie returned to the business sector. It was at this time that Archie founded Aurigo Management, a retail and consumer industry-focused private equity firm. In 2009 it was announced that Archie would take over as Chairman of ITV, where he worked for six years transforming the companies fortunes. He also acted as adviser to Lazard & Co, Coles Group and Global Counsel, oversaw the turnaround of Homebase and was appointed as Chairman of Hobbycraft. In 2017 he accepted his current role at Marks & Spencer, where he acts as Chairman of the Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Highly regarded as an accomplished businessman, Archie has earned several accolades in reward of his devotion to companies across the country. He has been elected into the Marketing Society Hall of Fame along with being voted as Retailer of the Year and Yorkshire Businessman of the Year. His biggest award was received in 2010, the Insitute of Turnaround Professional Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also awarded an honorary degree from the Leeds Metropolitan University. With his extensive skill-set developed from an illustrious career, Archie is often called upon as a motivational speaker. Able to cover a diverse range of topics from business management and value creation to change management and the retail industry, Archie is the perfect leading authority to provide an insightful motivational keynote for a range of corporate audiences.
