Eric Born (born 31 August 1970) is a Swiss businessman and former competitive judoka.
Early Life and Judo Career
Born took up judo from a young age and became European Judo Champion in 1991, winning a gold medal at the European Championships in Prague in the under-65 kg category. He competed in the men's half-lightweight (65 kg) event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but was defeated in the first round. Following the Olympics, he returned to competition and won a silver medal at the 1993 World Judo Championships in Hamilton, Canada. He also won multiple Swiss national championships and World Cup events.
Business Career
After retiring from competitive judo, Born entered the business world. He started his career at Migros in finance before becoming Managing Director of the retail chain Office World in the UK in 1998. He later served as Managing Director at Frimago and as a member of the Management Board of the Bon Appetit Group.
From 2004 to 2009, he worked for Gategroup, the world's largest independent airline catering provider, as President Europe West/South and a member of the Management Board.
He served as Chief Executive Officer of Wincanton plc, a leading supply chain solutions company, from 2010 to 2015. He then became President and Chief Executive Officer of Swissport International AG, a global aviation services provider, from August 2015 until the end of 2020.
After a nearly two-year sabbatical, Born was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Grafton Group plc in November 2022, a role he currently holds. He has also served as a Non-Executive Director of Serco Group plc and John Menzies plc.
Education
Born holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, New York.
Personal Life
Born remains active in judo. He is a Swiss national.
