BIOGRAPHY
Lord Jonathan Marland is a successful British businessman with ties to Kuwait and extensive experience in promoting British trade and investment abroad. He has held various senior government posts, mainly in the areas of energy and business promotion.
Marland built his business career in the city of London and helped found what is now the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc insurance multinational, a world leader in its sector. He serves on the boards of several companies and is involved in numerous public and charitable bodies.He was awarded a peerage as Baron Marland of Odstock in 2006.
Known as an entrepreneur, he has led the acquisitions of numerous companies.
From 2010 through 2013, Marland held various senior government posts under Prime Minister David Cameron including the prime minister’s trade envoy,minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, and chairman of British Business Ambassadors.
In 2013, Marland and Mohammed Alshaya, the executive chairman of Kuwait’s Alshaya retail and entertainment conglomerate, were named co-chairs of the newly created Kuwait British Business Council. This semiofficial body was created to boost trade and investment relations between the two countries, and to identify and remove any obstacles hindering bilateral trade and investment. Marland’s other links with Kuwait include serving as a member of the high advisory council of the Kuwait National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development—a body with US$7 billion in Kuwaiti government capital.
Marland serves as chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and president of the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra. Charitable activities include chairing the Churchill Centre UK; serving as a trustee of the Atlantic Partnership and the Guggenheim UK Charitable Trust; and chairing Tickets for Troops, an organization that encourages sporting and cultural organizations to provide free tickets for servicemen and women and veterans. He is a major shareholder in the Cricketer magazine.
UK-Kuwait Business Council