Sir George Cox is Chairman of the Design Council, before which he was Director General of the Institute of Directors from 1999 to 2004.

Originally qualifying as an aerospace engineer and spending his early years in factory management, Sir George has spent most of his career in information technology. For part of this he headed up the consulting and research company, Butler Cox which he led through its formation, development and eventual flotation on the London Stock Market, and for part he was Chief Executive of the services businesses of technology giant Unisys for the whole of Europe.

He has also served as the Senior Independent Director of LIFFE (the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange) and as a member of the Management Board of the Inland Revenue.

He is currently a member of the Supervisory Board of Euronext, the Senior Independent Director of Bradford & Bingley plc and a non-executive director of Shorts. He also Chairs the Board of the international humanitarian charity Merlin, is a Trustee of VSO and the President of the Royal College of Speech Therapists.

Sir George is a member of Council of Warwick University and sits on the Advisory Board of Warwick Business School. He is also a Visiting Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.

A past international rowing coach, he was Chairman of Selectors for the GB men’s rowing team for the 1979 World Championships and the 1980 Olympics.