Giles Clarke - ECB chairman

Giles Clarke was elected ECB Chairman in September 2007 and re-elected in March 2009.

The Chairman of Somerset from 2002-2007, he led the successful redevelopment of the County Ground at Taunton and became Chairman of ECB’s Marketing Advisory Committee in 2004, leading the ECB’s broadcast rights negotiations in both 2004 and 2008.

He is also a Director of the International Cricket Council and was appointed Chairman of the ICC’s Pakistan task force in 2010.

An EU 500 Entrepreneur, he founded Majestic Wine in 1981 and built it into a national chain of wine warehouses which was sold for £15 million in 1989.

He subsequently co-founded two other major enterprises: Pet City, which became a national chain of 94 stores and was sold for £150 million in 1996; and Safestore PLC, the self storage company, which was sold for £44 million in 2003.

From 2002-2007, he was a National Council member of the Learning and Skills Council, which is responsible for all adult learning in the UK other than universities.

Educated at Rugby School and Oriel College, Oxford (MA Persian with Arabic), he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset in 2004. He is married with one son and lives in Somerset.