Richard Cousins | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1959-03-29)29 March 1959 Leeds, England |
| Died | 31 December 2017(2017-12-31) (aged 58) Cowan, New South Wales, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Sheffield Lancaster University Management School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Caroline Thorpe (1982–2015) |
| Children | 2 (both deceased) |
Richard John Cousins (29 March 1959 – 31 December 2017) was a British businessman, and thechief executive officer of the world's largestfoodservice company, theCompass Group, based inChertsey,Surrey.[1]
Richard Cousins was born on 29 March 1959 inLeeds.[2] He was the son of Marian and Philip Cousins.[2]
Cousins was educated atThe Brakenhale School, acomprehensive school inBracknell, Berkshire.[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from theUniversity of Sheffield in 1980, followed by a master's degree inoperational research fromLancaster University Management School.[2]
Cousins began in the groupoperational research department ofCadbury-Schweppes in 1981,[2] being involved in market research and investment projects. In 1984 he joinedBTR Industries,[2] again in operational research. He became corporate planning manager forNewey and Eyre (now part ofHagemeyer UK),[2] one of its subsidiaries and an electrical components firm. In 1990 he moved toBPB plc, the British firm which is the world's largest manufacturer ofplasterboard and now owned by the French companySaint-Gobain.[4] He went on to be managing director of Abertay Paper Sacks in 1996, President and CEO of Westroc Inc in February 1998 and Group chief executive of BPB in April 2000.[5]
Cousins joined Compass in May 2006 as CEO.[4] In 2017, Cousins was named #11 on the 2017 100 Best Performing CEOs in the World byHarvard Business Review;[6] in 2016 he placed 17.[7] He is succeeded as CEO of Compass byDominic Blakemore. Originally planned for 1 April 2018, the succession was brought forward to 1 January 2018.[8]
Cousins married Caroline Thorpe in 1982; she died ofcancer in 2015.[2][9] Their two sons were William and Edward, both of whom died with their father.[2] They resided in theChilterns[10] andTooting,South London.[11] The couple had previously lived atWellington, Shropshire late in the 1980s, where Cousins was a player in theCricket Club, of which he remained for some time chairman of the club committee.[12]
Cousins was killed on 31 December 2017 when thelight aircraft he was oncrashed into theHawkesbury River in Australia near Cowan, north ofSydney. His two sons, William Cousins (25) and Edward Cousins (23), his fiancée Emma Bowden (48) and her daughter Heather Bowden-Page (11) as well as pilot Gareth Morgan, were also killed in the accident. Emma Bowden was the daughter ofGerald Bowden,[13] the formerConservative Member of Parliament forDulwich.[14] Cousins, a keen cricket fan, was to attend the Fifth Test of theAshes series in Sydney with his two sons; the seats were left empty.[15]
A year before his death, Cousins changed his will to include a "common tragedy clause", so that if he and his children were to die at the same time, the bulk of his fortune would go to charity. This resulted in the charityOxfam receiving a £41 million bequest from his estate.[16]
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief Executive of Compass Group May 2006 – December 2017 | Succeeded by |