Gerald Corbett

Gerald Michael Nolan Corbett DL (born 7 September 1951) is a businessman who was the chairman of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). A businessman, over a long career he has been a director of thirteen public companies, seven of which he has chaired. He is currently chairman of Segro plc, the FTSE 100 international industrial property logistics group. He chaired Britvic plc for 12 years until September 2017. Britvic plc is the international soft drink company whose brands include Robinsons squash, J2O, Tango, Fruit Shoot, Ballygowan water and is also a bottler for PepsiCo. As chairman he led the flotation of Britvic in 2005. He was chairman of Betfair plc between 2012 and 2016 when Betfair merged with Paddy Power plc to create Paddy Power Betfair.

He was chairman of Moneysupermarket.com plc between 2007 when he led the floatation until April 2014. He chaired Towry, the wealth advisory business between 2012 and 2014 and was a non-executive director of Numis plc, the stockbroking and investment banking business based in the city from 2008. He was chairman of Numis from 2014 to 2017.

In 2005 he became Chairman of SSL International plc, the consumer healthcare group, whose major brands included Durex and Scholl, sold in over 50 countries. In 2010 he negotiated the sale of SSL to Reckitt Benckiser for £2.5 billion, a gain of 400% on the share price 5 years previously.

He was Chairman of Action on Hearing Loss between 2007 and 2013 (formerly known as the Royal National Institute of the Deaf), the UK's largest charity for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He is Chairman of the Hertfordshire Community Foundation and has been a trustee since 2010. He was chairman of St Albans Cathedral Music Trust 2010–16. He Chairs the St Albans Cathedral Appeal, "Alban Britain's First Saint". He was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire for 2010/11 and served on the Council of the Shrieval Association between 2008 and 2012.

David Freud described him in his book "Freud in the City" as "immensely approachable, a short and jovial figure, full of impromptu quips relayed to the accompaniment of short, barks of laughter". He had an executive career which covered many years as a Finance Director (he was one of the longest serving members of the 100 Group of FTSE Finance Directors) prior to a controversial spell as Chief Executive of Railtrack, the infrastructure is part of the Tory Government's Railway privatisation.