Biographical Summary

Meakins, a Cambridge-educated father of three, started his career as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, followed by several years in management consulting and more than a decade at spirits maker Diageo. As the new Chief Executive of UK-based Wolseley, Meakins heads up the world's number one distributor of heating and plumbing supplies–a business that spans 27 countries and employs 63,000 worldwide. He comes to the company at a very challenging time; it has dismissed 20,000 workers since the fall of 2007, pre-tax profits have fallen by 80% and the prolonged downturn in global construction is making recovery difficult.