A phone call from the industrialist Sir John Parker set Sir Philip Hampton on his non-executive career.
Parker had just become chairman of RMC (Ready Mixed Concrete). He wanted Hampton, a chartered accountant, to lend his financial acumen and help turn around the FTSE 100 company.
After three years, it was in smart enough shape to be sold to a Mexican rival. “It was a good outcome for shareholders,” recalled Hampton, 68.
It was for him, too. That first post 20 years ago was the starting point for more than a dozen non-executive seats, including as chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, which propelled him into the nation’s consciousness, and Glaxo Smith Kline.
For his distinguished record, particularly his work on improving gender diversity in