Christopher Bland captained both the modern pentathlon and fencing teams during his tenure at Oxford University and represented Ireland in the latter sport at the 1960 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the opening rounds of both the individual and team épée events. After a stint with the 5th Royal Enniskillen Dragoon Guards, he became involved in politics and was elected as a member of the Greater London Council in 1967. By 1970, however, he was beginning to develop a business career that far overshadowed his political aspirations and he stepped down from the council at that year’s elections. During this time, however, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Inner London Education Authority and Chairman of the Conservative Bow Group think tank. His business leadership focused on the fields of health and telecommunications, across several different public and private companies, and he was knighted in 1993 for his contributions to the National Health Service. He was chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Board of Governors from 1996 through 2001 and then took up a role as chairman of British Telecommunications until 2007, when he resigned to focus on several smaller, private business leadership roles.
Ireland