Tony Danker
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
EducationUniversity of Manchester
Harvard University
TitleFormer director-general, Confederation of British Industry
TermNovember 2020 - March 2023
PredecessorCarolyn Fairbairn
Children2 sons

Tony Danker (born 1971) is a British lobbyist and former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from November 2020 to March 2023.

Early life

Danker was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1971.[1][2] He was educated at Belfast Royal Academy, and the University of Manchester where he earned a law degree.[1]

Danker was chair of the Union of Jewish Students from 1993 to 1994.[1]

He studied for a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard University, which he completed in 2005.[3]

Career

After leaving the University of Manchester, he worked for the former Chief Rabbi, the late Lord Sacks, from 1994 to 1996.[1] From 1998 to 2008, he was a consultant at McKinsey.[4] From 2008 to 2010, during the Brown Ministry, he was a SPAD at HM Treasury.[5] From 2010 to 2017, he was international director, then chief strategy officer, at Guardian News and Media, which publishes The Guardian and The Observer.[4][6]

From 2017 to 2020, he was chief executive of Be the Business, a government and industry-funded body launched by George Osborne aiming to make British companies more productive.[6][5] In June 2020, it was announced that he would be the next director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI): he succeeded Carolyn Fairbairn in November 2020.[6]

In 2023, Danker stepped aside after accusations arose of inappropriate workplace conduct involving a female employee earlier in the year. The CBI announced that it would be independently investigating the accusations.[7]

On 11 April 2023, the CBI announced that Danker had been dismissed with immediate effect as his conduct had "fallen short of that expected of the director general".[8] Danker said that had been made "the fall guy" for a wider crisis at the organisation.[9]

Views

In November 2022, Danker said higher growth was needed and otherwise the UK would not afford the growing health and social care costs. Danker said Hunt's statement had been "all about fighting inflation and getting the government budget in some decent shape and that does need to be done. There was really nothing there that tells us the economy is going to avoid another decade of low productivity and low growth".[10]

Personal life

Danker is married, with two sons, and lives in London.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Jewish adviser named new director-general of CBI". Jewish News. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. ^ Halliday, Gillian (3 November 2020). "Troubles 'hugely politicised' CBI's new Belfast-born chief Tony Danker". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. ^ "McKinsey alumnus Tony Danker appointed new CEO of CBI". www.consultancy.uk. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Tony Danker". Business in the Community. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b Kleinman, Mark (10 June 2020). "CBI picks productivity chief Danker as next director-general". Sky News. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Partington, Richard (10 June 2020). "Business lobby group the CBI appoints Tony Danker as chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  7. ^ "CBI boss Tony Danker steps aside after misconduct allegations". BBC. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  8. ^ "CBI dismisses director general Tony Danker after conduct complaints". The Guardian. 11 April 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Sacked CBI boss Tony Danker says reputation 'totally destroyed'". BBC News. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  10. ^ Jeremy Hunt has no plan for growth, says CBI boss BBC
Business positions Preceded byCarolyn Fairbairn Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry 2020–2023 Succeeded byRain Newton-Smith
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