Alan Robert Jackson

Alan Robert Jackson, AO (30 March 1936 - 4 August 2018) was an Australian businessman who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of BTR plc between 1991 and 1996 and chairman of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) between 1995 and 2001. He was also a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia between 1991 and 2001.
Early life and education
Jackson grew up in Western Gippsland in Drouin during the Great Depression. His father was James Jackson and his mother was Doris Lane. Jackson had two siblings, his brother, Wallace Jackson and his sister, Elizabeth Jackson.
His family are descendants to early European explorers in Victoria, including Joseph Jackson who in the 1860s, founded modern day Jindivick by carving out a track which he named 'Jackson's Track' in the North-Western Gippsland area in the Baw Baw Shire.
In 1952, Jackson left Drouin High School at the age of 16 to find work in Melbourne as an office boy. Though, he did not complete his High School Certificate (HSC), nor any tertiary level education later on in his life.
He married Esme Giles in 1962 and had four children together. They were married for 56 years until his death in 2018.
Career
Jackson began his career as an office boy but soon climbed the ranks and became the managing director of Mather & Platt as an accountant between 1955 and 1977.
He then became managing director of BTR Nylex Australia during the period of 1977 to 1990. In this time, he became the CEO of Austrim Nylex (the Australian arm of Nylex) which was one of Australia’s largest textile manufacturing companies in the 1980s. From there, he became the managing director and the chief executive officer of BTR plc, headed in London between 1991 and 1996, before retiring soon afterwards, in 1997. However, during this period, Jackson also chaired Austrim Ltd and was director of Nylex (Malaysia) and the China Domestic Plastics Corporation.
Jackson was feared by established business throughout his time at BTR and was often referred to as “knuckles”. During his tenure, Jackson managed to turn the profits of the company from $16.4 million to $764 million. Moreover, sales grew from $115 million to $4.8 billion by 1995.
Retirement
In his retirement, Jackson returned to Australia and founded Cartagen Pty Ltd by buying a large plot of land in Drouin in which he developed through his company. The Jackson’s View Estate as it was known, was completed in 2020 through the support of his family.
In 2002, Jackson was diagnosed with dementia in which he suffered from for 16 years. He was 82 when he passed away in 2018.
Honours and awards
* 1991 Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), 26 January 1991
: For service to business, to industry and to government.
* 1995 Australian Businessman of the Year
* 2001 Centenary Medal, 1 January 2001
: For outstanding service to Australia's international trade.

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