René Carayol - Media Power Player and Mentor

René Carayol

René Carayol, Information Technology Director of IPC magazines, holds a unique position in British publishing. He is the first black man to sit on the IPC board and was one of the key organisers of the management buy out when Reed Elsevier put IPC up for sale. Here's a profile of this charismatic individual and how he got where he is.

Rene was born Gambia in September 1958 and recently celebrated his 40th birthday in London with 200 of his closest family and friends. He has two children, a girl of 9 and a son of 20. He enjoys working out and has an active social life; he also has the financial wherewithal to pursue it.

Lucky man, but nothing particularly unusual. However, Rene is the first black person ever to sit on the IPC Board, and is also the first IT Director to sit on the IPC Board. He also has big plans which will test his entrepreneurial skills to the limit.

After attending the London School of Economics, Rene joined the Road Transport Industry Board as a trainee programmer, and then moved on to Dixons for an 18 month stint in their IT Department.

His career then took him to Marks & Spencer, where he spent the next 10 years rising through the ranks of their Information Technology Group. During this period, he spent a year as a buyer, gaining a fascinating and ultimately useful insight into running a commercial operation.

From M & S he moved to Pizza Hut (UK), joining as their Systems Development Manager and leaving them in 1995 as their first black IT Director. He left Pizza Hut to join IPC Magazines Ltd as IT Director and Chief Information Officer in March 1995.

Rene works to increase the contribution of information systems to IPC Magazines and the company's profitability and growth. As a member of the Board, he played a key role in the Management Buy Out of IPC from Reed Elsevier in late '97, early '98. This was the largest buy out ever in the UK at a figure of £840 million.

Apart from his business exploits, Rene supports a mentoring scheme that links mature advisors with under-privileged children from the rougher parts of the capital. He believes this is one way that professionals and business people can aid youth and communities.