Name: Simon Burke.
Position: Executive chairman, Hamleys.
Age: 42.
Why he is in the news: He was appointed executive chairman of Hamleys on March 1st.
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Career: He began his accountancy career with Binder Hamlyn in Dublin (now BDO Simpson Xavier). He moved to London in 1982, where he joined Coopers & Lybrand's (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) corporate finance business. In 1987, he moved to Virgin as business development manager, eventually becoming chief executive of the Virgin Entertainment Group. He left Virgin to join Hamleys as chief executive in July 1999.
Family: Single. No children, but is "an attentive godparent so I'm not unfamiliar with buying toys".
