The Kiwi at the helm of Harrod's

He may just be the most successful Kiwi businessman you've never heard of - and he's running a British institution.

For the past three months former Wellingtonian James McArthur has been in charge of Harrods department store, a must-see for Kiwis visiting London.

Mr McArthur, once a Tawa schoolboy, is Harrods Group's chief executive officer, a position created specifically for him.

Reporting directly to Harrods chairman Mohamed Al Fayed, Mr McArthur oversees the Knightsbridge store as well as the company's real estate, aviation and airport terminal retail operations.

Speaking from London, the 48-year-old said he had "the best job in the world".

"Harrods is the most extraordinary place. It's special in the hearts of everyone around the world. What other single store is known around the globe?"

Asked what British people thought about having a Kiwi in charge of their cultural icon, Mr McArthur said: "I don't think anyone here would even be aware I'm a New Zealander, though I'm always a Kiwi at heart."

Any trace of the Kiwi twang is long gone, though he is still a New Zealand citizen.

His mother, Thorndon artist Piera McArthur, is proud of him. "He's had some amazing jobs."

Mr McArthur spent 12 years at Gucci Group including as group executive vice-president of strategy and acquisitions, and as president of the Yves St Laurent brand.

When he quit Gucci last May, the Financial Times described him as "one of fashion's most prolific corporate personalities".

Born in France while his father, John McArthur, was posted there as a diplomat, he lived in New Zealand between the ages of three and five, and from 10 to 25.

He went to schools in Tawa and Khandallah and St Patrick's College Silverstream before graduating from Victoria University in Wellington with first class honours.

After working as a Reserve Bank economist, he completed his MBA at Harvard in 1987 then became an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in London, where he first began advising Gucci.

In 1999, he brought his wife and their "three and a half" children - she was pregnant - home to settle in Hawke's Bay.

Gucci soon headhunted him, however.

Mr McArthur admitted to having "a vision" for Harrods, but said, "I'm not going to share it with a journalist after just three months in the job."

- © Fairfax NZ News