Lord Peter Levene was elected Chairman of Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance market, in November 2002. He is currently Chairman of the Lloyd’s Franchise Board.
Peter Levene has enjoyed a long and varied career in business, Government and banking. Most recently, he served as Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s leading providers of financial services, with a particularly strong position in the European banking market. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman of Bankers Trust International and was formerly with both Morgan Stanley and Wasserstein Perella.
Peter Levene started his career in the defence industry at a small company which grew into United Scientific Holdings, a substantial supplier to UK and overseas Ministries of Defence. Subsequently, he was asked by Defence Secretary, Michael Heseltine, to act as a personal advisor in the Ministry of Defence, and subsequently as a permanent secretary in the role of Chief of Defence Procurement, a position which he held for six years. He thereafter held a number of Government posts, as Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Environment, President of the Board of Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Efficiency and Effectiveness from 1992 to 1997. During this period, he also served as Chairman of the Docklands Light Railway and then Chairman and Chief Executive of Canary Wharf Ltd.
He is an Alderman and Magistrate of the City of London and served as Sheriff from 1995 to 1996. He served as Lord Mayor of London for the year 1998 to 1999, in which role he presided over the Corporation of the City of London, and supported and promoted London as an international financial centre. He received a knighthood in 1989 and became a life Peer in July 1997.
Peter Levene currently holds four non-executive directorships, as Chairman of General Dynamics UK Limited and on the boards of Haymarket Group Ltd, Total SA and China Construction Bank. He is also the Chairman of International Financial Services London (formerly British Invisibles).
