John Murray Allan (born 20 August 1948) is a British businessman. He is chair of the housebuilder Barratt Developments, and was president and vice president of the Confederation of British Industry, and chairman of the supermarket chain Tesco.
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Early life
John Murray Allan was born on 20 August 1948. Allan attended St Andrew’s High School in Kirkcaldy, and studied mathematics at University of Edinburgh.
Career
Allan's experience spans retail, logistics and housebuilding. He was chief executive of Exel, chief financial officer of Deutsche Post, deputy chairman of retailer Dixons Carphone and a non-executive director at Royal Mail. He was chairman of Samsonite and has been a non-executive director at National Grid, PHS Group and Hamleys. Allan was an instrumental figure in the £3.7 billion merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse.
In February 2011, Home Secretary Theresa May announced that Allan would join the Home Office as a non-executive member of its supervisory board in an attempt to bring business experience into the government department.
Allan was elected as president of the CBI on 19 June 2018, and was elected for a second term at the 18 June 2019 annual general meeting of members. Allan was succeeded by Lord Karan Bilimoria as president of the organisation on 16 June 2020, and served as vice president from then until stepping down from the board on 21 October 2021.