Tim Bell
Tim Bell (ennobled in 1998 as Lord Bell of Belgravia) began his career in 1959 at Colman Prentis and Varley and after stints with Hobson Bates and Geers Gross he helped form Saatchi & Saatchi in 1970, where he was Chief Executive and later International Chairman. Bell left in 1985, by which time Saatchi & Saatchi was the number one agency network in the world. He joined the Lowe Group (part of Interpublic) as Deputy Chairman and led an MBO of the communications division Lowe Belle Communications in 1989. Lowe Bell Communications became Bell Pottinger and later Chime when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1994. Bell has been Chairman since that time. He is now Chairman of Bell Pottinger Private, which in 2012 separated from Chime following a management buy-out.
Tim Bell was Political Advisor to Lady Thatcher from 1976 to 1990. In that time he successfully ran the publicity campaigns for the Conservative Party for the general elections in 1979, 1983 and 1987.
He was an advisor to Republicans Abroad for Ronald Reagan’s two elections. He advised F. W. de Klerk in the post-apartheid election of 1994 in South Africa. He advised Boris Yeltsin in the second presidential election of 1995. He advised Dr. Mahatir the Prime Minister of Malaysia for sixteen years from 1997.
He advised Ian Macgregor on the national coal miners strike and P&O on the seamen’s strike and Rupert Murdoch on the print union strike.
He has recently advised Jacques Chirac in France, John Howard in Australia, Eddie Fenech Adami in Malta, Thaksin Shinawatra in Thailand, The Sultan of Brunei, Mayor Lushkov in Moscow, Benita Ferrero Waldener in Austria, President Yar Adua in Nigeria, the Rose revolution in Georgia and the Orange revolution in Ukraine.
He is a Knight Bachelor and a member of the House of Lords as Baron Bell of Belgravia. He is a FIPR, FIPA and FMS.[1]
In December 2014, Lord Bell described Christmases spent with the Thatchers at Chequers as "sort of hideous".[2]
