Knighthood for cobbler who fostered 90 children
JOHN TIMPSON, chairman of the cobbler and key repairer that bears his name, has been knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
The Daily Telegraph’s business agony uncle was recognised for his services to business and fostering.
He and his late wife Alex, who died in January 2016, fostered some 90 children over 31 years.
“I receive this honour with great pride and a certain amount of sadness. I was very much the junior partner on the fostering front, and my late wife Alex also had a fundamental influence on all that I’ve done in business, so I’m bound to regret that she’s not alongside me to be properly recognised as Lady Alex,” he said.
“I hope that I can put this recognition to good use by promoting our involvement with employing people from prison, encouraging every school to understand how to look after lookedafter children, and – being frank about my own difficulties – develop a greater understanding of stress in the workplace.”
He is joined by Malcolm Walker, the founder of Iceland Foods, and Leonard Blavatnik, the Ukrainian-born billionaire and philanthropist, who also become knights.
At the same time a trio of well-known female City faces have been made dames, led by fund manager and 30% Club founder Helena Morrissey.
Other business figures on the honours list included Mark Boleat, who recently stood down as chairman of the City of London Corporation’s policy and resources committee, who has also been knighted.
Marks & Spencer’s style director Belinda Earl has been recognised for her services to retail with an OBE.
There were a raft of awards to those who represent some of the UK’S biggest business lobby groups.
Terry Scuoler, chief executive of the industry lobby group EEF receives a CBE, Mike Cherry, the Federation of Small Businesses’ national policy chairman, receives a OBE, while Nora Senior, who was president of the British Chambers of Commerce for three years until July 2016, receives a CBE.
From the small business world, Tarek Fouad Malouf, founder of the Hummingbird Bakery, has been recognised with an MBE, while Elisabetta Lapenna-huda, founder of financial education charity Mybnk was also awarded an MBE.