Sir Christopher Charles Gent HonFREng was born on 10 May 1948 and is a British businessman, He is the former chief executive officer of Vodafone, a British multinational mobile phone company.
13 Facts About Chris Gent
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Chris Gent first worked for the National Westminster Bank in 1971 as a management trainee, then as a computer services manager at Schroders.
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In 1985 Chris Gent joined Racal Electronics' Vodafone subsidiary as managing director of British operations as Vodafone prepared to launch its retail mobile phone operations.
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Chris Gent became its managing director in January 1985 and its chief executive officer in January 1997.
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In 2001, Chris Gent was an advocate of the United Kingdom joining the euro.
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Chris Gent was formerly chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, a British multinational pharmaceutical company, joining in June 2004, becoming chairman on 1 January 2005, a position he held until May 2015.
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In 2006 Chris Gent was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Bath.
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Chris Gent received a knighthood for his services to the telecoms industry in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours.
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Chris Gent was appointed as a HonFREng of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2004.
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In March 2007 Chris Gent called for a referendum on London's hosting of the 2012 Olympics.
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Chris Gent is an avid sports fan and enjoys golf, skiing and tennis.
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Chris Gent famously instigated the deal with Airtouch whilst on his mobile phone at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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Chris Gent married Kate in July 1999 in Wokingham and they have two sons.