Peter Sands was born in the UK on 8 January 1962 to British parents who had themselves been born in Asia. His father, was born in Malaya, a British colony until 1957, where his grandfather ran rubber plantations for the London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Co and his mother was born in India, another former British colonial outpost.[4]
In 1988, Sands started his career as a consultant for the management consulting firm, McKinsey in its London office.[2][3] He held positions of increasing responsibilities in the firm, and in 1996 he became a partner, and later in 2000 rose to position of a director.[2]
Between 2002 and 2008, the headcount of Standard Chartered nearly doubled to 70,000.[3][5] The British bank rescue plan, which was copied around the world, was based on a blueprint devised by Sands.[7] Standard Chartered itself did not take "any taxpayer money or used any central bank liquidity schemes".[8]
Also during his time at the bank, Sands was harshly criticized after Standard Chartered paid New York State $340 million in 2012 to settle claims it laundered money for Iran.[9][10]
In February 2015, amidst growing shareholder calls for his resignation,[11] Sands announced that he would be stepping down as CEO, effective June 2015. At the time of the announcement, the Wall Street Journal noted that Sands, having served at the helm of Standard Chartered for nine years, was among the "longest-serving chiefs of a major Western bank."[12] On 26 February 2015, it was announced that his successor would be Bill Winters, former co-CEO of JP Morgan's investment banking business.[13]
After leaving Standard Chartered, Sands was a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government of the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government and became the lead non-executive board member of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] In 2016, he also chaired the International Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future under the auspices of the National Academy of Medicine.[14]
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, 2017-current
In 2017, Sands was one of the candidates to succeed Mark Dybul as executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). He withdrew his candidacy for personal reasons just three days before the selection committee meeting;[15] shortly after, he asked the committee to reinstate his candidacy.[16]
In November 2017, Sands was appointed to lead the Global Fund and started in the role in early 2018.[17]
In his role at the GFATM, Sands was also appointed to the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), an expert group chaired by Patrick Vallance to advise the G7 presidency held by the government of Prime MinisterBoris Johnson in 2021.[18]
Other activities
Sands has served on various boards and commissions, including as:
Sands was a member of the British Good Work Commission, which is tasked to examine the major challenges of work in the 21st century and redefine the notion of good work – work that is rewarding for business, society and individuals.[23][24]
Personal life
Sands is married to the writer Betsy Tobin, and they have four children.[5] They live in Highbury in north London, and have a second home in Monmouthshire.[25]
^Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance. "Members' biographies". Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
^Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. "Leadership". Retrieved 10 July 2010. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
