The negotiating skills of Sir John Parker, the chairman of P&O, have helped to add an extra £580 million to the bid price of the shipping and ports company. They are skills that have already been put to good use by Sir John, who oversaw the merger of National Grid and Lattice Group to form National Grid Transco.
Sir John began his career at Harland & Wolff, the Belfast shipyard, straight out of school, later becoming managing director of Austin & Pickersgill, the shipbuilding company. He then returned to Harland as chief executive in 1983, overseeing its privatisation. Sir John went on to turn around Babcock, the troubled engineer, and then became chairman of Lattice.
A sailing enthusiast, Sir John is thought to value getting to know his board colleagues on sailing trips. He also enjoys walking and classical music. Sir John is married with one son and one daughter.