Alan Jackson (businessman)

Alan Robert Jackson AO AASA FCA FCPA FAIM CBIM (30 March 1936 – 4 August 2018) was an Australian businessman who was the Director of BTR Nylex between 1977 and 1996 and CEO of BTR plc between 1991 and 1996[1] as well as Chairman of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) between 1995 and 2001.[2] He was also a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) between 1991 and 2001.[3]

For other people named Alan Jackson, see Alan Jackson (disambiguation).

Alan Jackson

AO AASA FCA FCPA FAIM CBIM
Jackson c. 1991
Born
Alan Robert Jackson

(1936-03-30)30 March 1936
Drouin, Victoria, Australia
Died4 August 2018(2018-08-04) (aged 82)
Malvern East, Victoria, Australia
Resting placeCheltenham Memorial Cemetery, Cheltenham
OccupationBusiness executive
Office
Board member ofReserve Bank of Australia (1991–2001)
Seven Network (1995–2001)
RelativesMargaret Jackson (niece)[1]
AwardsOfficer of the Order of Australia

Personal life and education

As a child, Jackson attended Drouin High School, leaving in 1952, when he was 15 to train to became a pastry cook but became an office boy or clerk in Melbourne.[4] At 19, he took accountancy studies by correspondence at Hemmingway Robertson Institute.[4] He did not complete his High School Certificate (HSC), but did a brief management course at Harvard's Business School in 1977.[5]

On 20 January 1962, Jackson married Esme Adelia Jackson (née Giles). The couple had four daughters together.[6]

Career

Accounting

Jackson began his career as a pastry chef but once he was old enough, he became an office boy at Kelly and Lewis Pty Ltd in 1955, but soon moved to Mather and Platt, in which he became a clerk. Mather and Platt was the Australian arm of a British pump manufacturer.[4] After his studies, he progressed to become an accountant then, chief accountant and later, finance secretary and finance director. He became managing director of the company during the 1970s, until 1977.[7][8]

Period at BTR and subsidiaries

Jackson became managing director of the conveyor belt manufacturer Hopkins Odlum between 1977 and 1990 (which would become the precursor to BTR Nylex when the name of Hopkins was changed in 1986).[9] Jackson became managing director and chief executive officer of the BTR plc conglomerate in December 1990. [9] In 1991, Jackson completed the acquisition of ACI of Australia, one of the largest conglomerates in Australia and the largest hostile takeover in Australian history at that point in time.[10]

Later career

In August 1995, Jackson was asked by the Australian Minister for Trade, Bob McMullan, to be a member of the board of the Australian Trade Commission. He was invited by the board and by Tim Fischer in late 1995, to Chair the Commission. He served in this role for six years until July 2001.[11] Jackson was an early supporter of developing economic connections with Mainland China after opening to western trade in the 1980s. He furthered economic ties with Japan and South East Asian countries as well as reinforcing economic connections with the United Kingdom and the United States on behalf of Australia.[12]

He also became a Non-Executive Director of Kerry Stokes's Seven Network after moving from BTR in 1995, a position he held until April 2001.[13][14]

Honours, awards and fellowships

Honours

Fellowships

References
  1. "Remembering a business legend". The Australian. 2018.
  2. Colebatch, Tim (20 July 2001). "Austrade chief to vacate the chair". The Age.
  3. "Past & Present Reserve Bank Board Members". Reserve Bank of Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  4. Atkin, Dan (28 October 1995). "The wizard of Oz takes his final bow". The Daily Telegraph. p. 7. ProQuest 317517747.
  5. "Australia: My Best Deal". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  6. Elliot, Scott (24–25 September 2011). "Jackson's five have a vision". The Weekend Financial Review. p. 21.
  7. Wright, Charles. "Building Australia." Australian Business. 4 May 1988.
  8. Henningham, Leigh. "BTR Nylex thrives as frugal 'lean machine'." The Herald. 17 August 1987.
  9. Underhill, Marion (6 December 1990). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Australian to Become Head of BTR of Britain". The New York Times.
  10. Potter, Ben (6 January 1988). "BTR Looms as an Industrial Giant". Australian Financial Review.
  11. Colebatch, Tim. "Austrade chief to vacate the chair". The Age. 20 July 2001.
  12. "Australian Trade Commission Annual Report 1995-96". The Australian Trade Commission. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  13. "Jackson off Seven board". The Daily Telegraph. 26 June 2001. p. 27. ProQuest 358640428.
  14. Mayne, Stephen (14 January 2008). "The day Alan Jackson lost his cool". The Mayne Report. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  15. "Australian Honours Search Facility". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  16. "Australian Honours Search Facility". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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