Close

Events

The rise and fall of Britain's captains of industry

Hosted by the Department of Economic History

In-person and online public event (LSE campus, venue tbc to ticketholders)

Speakers

Dr Michael Aldous

Professor John Turner

Luke Johnson

Discussant

Chair

Professor Eric Schneider

 

The CEOs of Britain's largest companies wield immense power, but we know very little about them. How did they get to the top? Why do they have so much power? Are they really worth that exorbitant salary?

In their book, The CEO: The Rise and Fall of Britain's Captains of Industry, which they will discuss at this event, Michael Aldous and John Turner provide the answers by telling the story of the British CEO over the past century. From gentleman amateurs to professional managers, entrepreneurs, frauds, and fat cats, they reveal the characters who have made it to the top of the corporate ladder, how they got there, and what their rise tells us about British society. They show how the quality of their leadership influences productivity, innovation, economic development and, ultimately, Britain's place in the world. More recently, issues have arisen regarding high CEO pay, poor performance, and a lack of professionalisation and diversity. Are there lessons from history for those who would seek to reform Britain's flagging corporate economy?

Meet our speakers and chair

Michael Aldous is a business historian with an interest in understanding how the ownership, organisation and leadership of firms effects the performance of firms and industries, and the wider impact on economies and societies. He is a senior lecturer at Queen's Business School, Queen's University Belfast and an alumnus of LSE.

John Turner has been Professor of Finance and Financial History at Queen's University Belfast since 2005. His research is focussed on the long-run evolution and development of banking, banking crises, bubbles, and financial markets.

Luke Johnson (@LukeJohnsonRCP) is an entrepreneur, investor and writer. Luke was Chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation from January 2004 to January 2010. Luke is Chairman of a number of charities and interest groups. Luke was appointed Chair of the Almeida Theatre in Islington in 2016.  He was Chairman of both The Institute of Cancer Research, one of the world’s leading cancer laboratories and StartUp Britain, the national campaign in support of entrepreneurship.

Eric Schneider (@ericbschneider) is Professor of Economic History in the Department of Economic History at LSE. He is currently conducting research on three broad topics in the history of health and historical economic demography.

More about this event

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Department of Economic History (@LSEEcHist) is one of the world's leading centres for research and teaching economic history. It is home to a huge breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise ranging from the medieval period to the current century

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

 

Join our mailing list

Sign up to receive email updates from LSE Events including the latest news and event announcements.

LSE Blogs
Many speakers at LSE events also write for LSE Blogs, which present research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Follow British Politics and Policy, the Business Review, the Impact Blog, European Politics and Policy and the LSE Review of Books to learn more about the debates our events series present.

Live captions

Automated live captions are available at this live event. Please note that this feature uses Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, or machine generated transcription and is not 100% accurate.

Photography

Photographs taken on behalf of LSE are often used on our social media accounts, website and publications. At events, photographs could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre, of speakers during the talk, and of audience members as they participate in the Q&A.

If you are photographed participating in an event Q&A but would not like your photograph to be stored for future use, please contact events@lse.ac.uk.

Media queries
Please contact the Press Office if you would like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email LSE.Press.Events@lse.ac.uk. Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each event.

Podcasts
We aim to make all LSE events available as a podcast subject to receiving permission from the speaker/s to do this, and subject to no technical problems with the recording of the event. Podcasts are normally available 1 week after the event. Podcasts and videos of past events can be found online

Social Media

Follow LSE public events on X for the latest updates on all our events and ticket releases. 

Livestreams and archive videos of past lectures are shared on our YouTube channel while event podcasts can be found on the LSE Player.

Event updates and other information about what’s happening at LSE can be found on our Facebook page and for live photos from events and around campus, follow us on Instagram. 

Attending our events in-person or online? Join the conversation using #LSEEvents.

Accessibility
If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, as well as on accessibility and special requirements, please refer to LSE Events FAQ.  LSE aims to ensure that people have equal access to these public events, but please contact the events organiser as far as possible in advance if you have any access requirements so that arrangements, where possible, can be made. If the event is ticketed, please ensure you get in touch in advance of the ticket release date. Access Guides to all our venues can be viewed online.

WIFI Access
LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in association with 'The Cloud', also in use at many other locations across the UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information and create an account at Join the Cloud.
Visitors from other participating institutions are encouraged to use eduroam. If you are having trouble connecting to eduroam, please contact your home institution for assistance.
The Cloud is only intended for guest and visitor access to wifi. Existing LSE staff and students are encouraged to use eduroam instead.

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of The London School of Economics and Political Science.

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

How can I attend? Add to calendar

This public event is free and open to all. This event will be a hybrid event, with an in-person audience and an online audience.

For the in person event: You can request one ticket via the online ticket request form, which will open after 12noon on Monday 22 September. The ticket line will stay open until all tickets have been allocated. 

For the online event: Registration for this event will open in early September.

For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk.

Share

  Sign up for news about events