The former chief executives of HSBC and Rolls-Royce have been knighted, as figures from the business world joined sportspeople, entertainers and public servants on the new year honours list.
Noel Quinn, 62, the bank’s chief executive from 2019 until September, received a knighthood for services to finance and net zero. He is credited with revamping HSBC and achieving record profits in 2023, when his pay roughly doubled to £10.6m during the year.
In 2020, Quinn also outlined the bank’s goal of hitting net zero carbon emissions by 2050. He was also a principal of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which commits financial institutions to align their lending and investment portfolios with environmental targets.
The former Rolls-Royce boss Warren East, 63, also received a knighthood for services to the economy and net zero. He led the jet-engine manufacturer between 2015 and 2022, the last two years of which were widely viewed as a turbulent spell for the aviation industry because of the pandemic.
The challenges East faced included agreeing to pay £671m to settle a bribery and corruption scandal from before his time, as well as discovering costly cracks in Roll-Royce jet engines. He also oversaw initial efforts to power aircraft engines using so-called sustainable aviation fuels.
Andrew Haines, 60, the chief executive of Network Rail, also received a knighthood for services to the transport sector and the economy. He has now taken on a second role, leading the government’s transition team that will take the rail industry towards a publicly run model under Great British Railways.
Meanwhile, Quinn’s immediate predecessor at HSBC, John Flint, was awarded a CBE. Flint was ousted as chief executive of the bank in 2019, but went on to run the UK Infrastructure Bank, which this year became the National Wealth Fund.
Other business figures making the list included: Poppy Gustafsson, 42, the co-founder of British tech security firm Darktrace, who was made a CBE for services to the cybersecurity industry. In October, Lady Gustafsson was named a minister for investment at the Treasury as part of the Labour government.
Leena Nair, 55, the chief executive of the fashion house Chanel, was also awarded a CBE.
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Elsewhere, the current and former heads of the British Business Bank, a publicly owned financing company, were both made CBEs. Louis Taylor, 58, and Catherine Lewis La Torre, 59, were awarded the honours for services to business and trade.
Richard Price, a managing director at Marks & Spencer, was made a MBE for services to fashion. Price oversees M&S’s clothing, home and beauty ranges.