Mark Robson joined the British Council in November 2007, initially as Director Operations with oversight of the British Council’s overseas network, as well as of its global English and Exams business and UK-based contract and project delivery unit, C&P (now P&P).
In November 2010, he took up the new Executive Board post of Director of the British Council’s English strategic business unit, in charge of the British Council’s global set of English language and exams activities. Mark also sits on the British Council’s management board, and currently chairs the British Council’s holding and trading companies – BC Holdings United Kingdom Limited and BC Trading.
A graduate in economics and statistics from the University of Southampton, before joining the British Council, Mark enjoyed a 25-year career in the private sector, predominantly in international consumer product marketing and sales. His professional career began with the market research agency MORI, before he moved in to marketing management with Colgate-Palmolive.
In the 1990s, Mark worked abroad, living variously in both Brussels and Florence, where he led marketing and export for Eridania Beghin-Say - a large French-owned food multi-national. Most recently, Mark was Vice-President Sales and Marketing for Georgia-Pacific’s $2 billion European paper products’ business.
A member both of the Marketing Society and the Market Research Society, Mark speaks French, Italian and Flemish. In his spare time, he coaches a girls’ football team, and is a qualified FA coach. He is married with two daughters.