John Frederick Pickering

John Frederick Pickering, (26 December 1939 – 25 June 2018) was a British economic and business consultant. He held senior posts at several UK universities and served on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) and Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal. He was a member of the General Synod of the Church of England as well as a church commissioner and president of the Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society (BCMS)-Crosslinks.

Education and career Pickering was educated at Slough Grammar School for Boys (now Upton Court Grammar School). He later studied at University College London (UCL) where he obtained his BSc, PhD, and DSc.

Pickering began his professional career as an industrial market research executive (1961–62) before being appointed as a lecturer at Durham University (1964–66) and University of Sussex (1966–73). After a brief period at the Administrative Staff College, Henley (now Henley Business School) he joined University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) as professor of industrial economics (1975–88), later serving as both vice-principal (1983–85) and dean (1985–87).

Between 1988 and 1990, Pickering served as vice-president of the University of Portsmouth (formerly Portsmouth Polytechnic); he was also the institution's acting president (1990–1), deputy president (1991–92), and deputy vice-chancellor (1992–94).

Pickering was subsequently professor of Business Strategy at the University of Bath School of Management (1997–2000) and a visiting professor at both Durham University Business School (1995–98) and the University of Southampton's School of Management (2001–04).

Whistleblowing In 1994, the secretary of the University of Portsmouth's then vice-chancellor Neil Merritt, had concerns relating to her boss's travel expenses. Pickering investigated and, sharing her concerns, passed them on to the governor's audit committee. Merritt resigned, admitting errors of judgement; he had been claiming expenses for executive class flight tickets for long haul air travel but then trading the tickets in for cheaper ones and making a personal profit. On his departure, Merritt received a £52,500 severance package; no prosecution was sought by the university. Storkey's inquiry nevertheless found that "Saxton Bampfylde had indeed promoted his candidacy as fairly as that of any other". The company admitted no liability but apologised to Pickering, through his lawyers, for not being as open as it could have been and for being "dilatory, dismissive and inaccurate" in its dealings with him.

In 2014, Hampshire Constabulary reviewed the material relating to former University of Portsmouth vice-chancellor Neil Merritt's expenses; the force's chief constable, Andy Marsh, subsequently wrote a letter to Pickering in which he stated that it was "evident from this material that offences of fraud were committed" and that other allegations should also have been further investigated. He added: "I am sorry that the actions of Hampshire Constabulary seem not to have reached the standard expected of them".

Other Positions Pickering served as a member of the General Synod of the Church of England (1980–90) and as a church commissioner (1983–90). He was president of Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society (BCMS)-Crosslinks between 1986 and 1992. From 2004 to 2006, Pickering was trustee and chairman of the Vocational Training Charitable Trust. He has been director and non-executive director of a number of companies, including Staniland Hall Ltd (1987–94).

Publications