Stephen Martin (businessman)


Stephen Martin is a British businessman. He served as the chief executive officer of the Clugston Group from 2006 to 2016. He became the director general of the Institute of Directors in February 2017, but left the Institute early in 2019.

Early life and education

Stephen Martin was born in 1966 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Before becoming an MP, the Democratic Unionist Party MP Sammy Wilson was Martin's school teacher and the two remain good friends. Martin moved to Blackpool at the age of 10, and his father died three years later.
Martin graduated from Ulster University, where he earned a bachelor of science in quantity surveying in 1988. Upon graduation he joined the British Army. He earned a master in business administration from the London Business School in 2003.

Career

Martin began his career as a quantity surveyor. He served as the chief executive officer of the Clugston Group, a construction firm, from 2006 to 2016. He appeared on Undercover Boss, a British reality television series, in 2009.
Martin voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum. He has argued that Brexit could lead to more trade with African markets.

Institute of Directors

In 2016, Martin was a surprise appointment to succeed Simon Walker as the director general of the Institute of Directors, and his term began in February 2017.
Martin caused controversy for his handling of the organisation, leading several of the Board of Directors to resign in protest at his conduct. The Guardian reported that IoD Chair Barbara Judge was "understood to have been recorded covertly by the IoD's director general, Stephen Martin". The recording was then leaked to the press, prejudicing a fair hearing.
In 2019, after less than two years in post, he left the Institute of Directors early with the organisation in financial difficulty and following widespread criticism of his leadership.

Personal life

Martin has a wife, Lisa, and two children.