David Arculus, chairman of mobile phone company O2, has been elected as deputy president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) at its annual general meeting held in London.
He will serve for one year as deputy to the current president, John Sunderland, and is expected to be elected president in May 2006 before serving a two-year term. Both roles are unpaid.
With his deputy, the president is a key voice for member companies within the CBI. They play an important role in its lobbying activities, meet with senior ministers, speak at major national and international events, and take the lead in appointing the director-general.
Arculus, 59, has been chairman of O2 since July 2004, and chairman of the government’s Better Regulation Task Force since April 2002.
He has also been a non-executive director of Barclays since 1997, where he sits on the Remuneration & Nominations Committees.
His previous roles include being group managing director of media company Emap, chief operating officer of United News & Media, chairman of Severn Trent, and chairman of Earls Court & Olympia.
