The CEO: the rise and fall of Britain's captains of industry

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.

Luke Johnson (@LukeJohnsonRCP) is an entrepreneur and investor. He was chairman of PizzaExpress PLC in the 1990s, and is a director/investor with Gail’s bakeries, Brompton Bicycles and various other businesses. He served as chair of Channel 4 TV, the Institute of Cancer Research and The Almeida Theatre.

Judy Stephenson is an economic historian researching labour markets, institutions, firms, finance and industries in England and NW Europe between about 1600 and 1850. Prior to gaining her PhD from the Department of economic history at LSE in 2015, she worked in the commercial sector as an account director in significant advertising agencies. A former fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, she is Professor of Economic History of the Built Environment at the Bartlett, University College London, serves as Honorary Secretary of the Economic History Society, and is a director of the Long Run Institute.

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.

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

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.

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.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

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.

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.