Justin King

The Vice Chairman and Head of Portfolio Businesses at Terra Firma and the former CEO of J Sainsburys PLC, Justin King harbours a wealth of retail industry knowledge  spanning a successful 30-year career.

As a keynote speaker , he draws on international experience across consumer goods and grocery retailing to share insights into change and leadership , including the importance of putting customers and colleagues at the heart of business.

During a decade at Sainsbury’s (2004-2014), Justin led the supermarket chain through a major turnaround from tumbling sales to nine years of profit growth.

In 2015, he became Vice Chairman and Head of Portfolio Businesses at private equity firm Terra Firma, which owns Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group and Wyevale garden centres; he sits on the boards of the General Partners and is a member of Terra Firma’s Management Committee.

Previously, he was Head of Food at Marks & Spencer and a non-executive director of Staples; he has also worked at Asda, Haagen-Dazs, PepsiCo and Mars.

A board member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Justin was on the audit committee of both organisations. Moreover, he was a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group (2010-2012).

Well-known for his interest in motorsport (his son races in GP2), Justin took on an advisory role with the Manor Formula One team after they fell into administration, implementing a company voluntary arrangement to facilitate a full recovery.

A Visiting Fellow of Oxford University’s Centre for Corporate Reputation, Justin has an undergraduate degree and Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Bath.

He was awarded a CBE in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours List and, since then, has been named Most Admired Business Leader by Management Today and Britain’s Most Impressive Businessman in the IPSOS-MORI Captains of Industry Report.