Allan Leighton began his career at Mars confectionery, where he rose to become Group Marketing Director before leaving to join the loss-making ASDA supermarket chain. There he was credited with turning what he once described as a 'basket case' into a highly successful company that was sold to US retail giant Wal-Mart for £6.7 billion in 1999.
When he left his position as President and Chief Executive of Wal-Mart Europe he famously coined the phrase 'going plural' as he took on non-executive positions at a string of companies, including lastminute.com, BHS, BSkyB and Selfridges. He was the longest serving chairman of Royal Mail Group until 2009, and is currently non-executive director of a number of companies. His first book, On Leadership, was a bestseller when it appeared in 2007.
