Luminaries from the business world have been named in the Queen’s birthday honours list, with gongs handed out to craft brewers, private equity millionaires and the boss of grocery delivery service Ocado.
Six business figures became knights, including Damon Buffini, former chair of private equity group Permira, who was named a knight bachelor for charity work.
The self-made millionaire became a hate figure for trade unions when Permira-owned AA sacked staff in 2006, prompting the GMB to stage a protest outside his church fronted by a live camel. The stunt was a reference to the biblical saying: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Paul Marshall, founder of Marshall Wace – one of Europe’s largest hedge funds – was knighted for services to education and philanthropy as chair of Ark, one of the UK’s leading providers of academy schools.
Sir Ian Wood, chair of oil services firm Wood Group, was awarded the knight grand cross after leading a review into how to maximise oil output from the North Sea.
Peter Wood, founder of insurers Direct Line and eSure, Philip Hulme, co-founder of Computacenter, and Terry Morgan, chairman of London’s Crossrail project, are the other new knights.
Perhaps the best-known business to see its leader honoured was Ocado, whose chief executive Tim Steiner was given an OBE for services to the economy.
There were also OBEs for Alexander Chesterman, chief executive of property website Zoopla, challenger bank Aldermore’s chief executive, Phillip Monks, and Trevor Garlick, BP’s head of North Sea operations, who retired last year.
The founders of craft beer company BrewDog, Martin Dickie and James Watt, were awarded MBEs, while there was a CBE for Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed, who sold his stake to Coca-Cola in 2013.
The founders of flight price comparison website Skyscanner, Barry Smith and Bonamy Grimes, were given OBEs for services to technology and travel.
Tracey McDermott, acting head of the City of London regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, was given a CBE.
• This article was amended on 13 June 2016. An earlier version said the chief executive of easyHotel, Guy Parsons, had been awarded an OBE in the Birthday Honours. The recipient was Guy Thomas Ernest Parsons, an accountant and supporter of charities, not the easyHotel chief executive.
