James Ross, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education
James Ross was appointed Chair of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education in December 2003.
Educated at Oxford, where he was an Open Exhibitioner of Jesus College, he gained an honours degree in Modern History in 1962. In 1967 he was awarded a distinction in the diploma course for Advanced Studies in Business Administration at Manchester Business School. He was the recipient of honorary doctorates of law at the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester in 2001.
James Ross’s career in the private sector was primarily with BP from 1962 to 1992. Having worked and lived in the UK, France, Africa and the USA, his last position was as a Managing Director of BP and Chairman and Chief Executive of BP America.
He subsequently spent twelve years as successively Chief Executive of Cable and Wireless, Chairman of Littlewoods and of National Grid. In the mid 1990s, he chaired the Board of the Manchester Business School.
He is currently a director of Prudential, of McGrawHill in the US and of Schneider Electric in France. He serves on the advisory council of the Institute of Business Ethics, the board of the Marshall Aid Commemorative Commission, is a trustee of the Council for Industry and Higher Education and is the Chairman of the Liverpool School for Tropical Medicine.
Married with three children and five grandchildren, James Ross lives in London, the Cotswolds and France.