Sir Mike Rake to helm CBI

BT chairman Sir Mike Rake is to succeed Sir Roger Carr as president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), it has been announced.

CBI members will be asked to endorse Sir Mike’s appointment as president at the annual general meeting with Sir Roger stepping down in June.

Commenting on Sir Mike’s appointment, Sir Roger said: “Sir Mike will be a great addition to the CBI team. His extensive international business experience across a wide variety of sectors will be hugely valuable and make him an excellent choice for the role of president.

“I am confident that director-general, John Cridland, and Sir Mike will work well together and that the voice of business will continue to be both authoritative and clear.”

The CBI president plays a leading role in the organisation’s advocacy work, meeting with ministers and senior civil servants, promoting UK business internationally and chairing the CBI board. It is an unpaid appointment.

Sir Mike added: “I am delighted to have been asked to take on the role of president of the CBI at this critical stage of economic development.

“The CBI provides an objective apolitical view on those matters which are most important from a business perspective, ensuring the economy can start to grow and create jobs, particularly for the young.”

Sir Mike is also chairman of easyJet, is deputy chairman of Barclays and a director of McGraw-Hill Inc.

The CBI is the UK’s leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce.