Admiral Sir John Treacher KCB was born in Concepcion, Chile and educated at St. Paul's School, London. He joined the Royal Navy in 1942 and served on HMS Nelson (in the Mediterranean), Glasgow (during the D-Day Landings) and Keppel (on Russian convoy duties). He qualified as a pilot and flew with 800 Squadron in the Korean War. Numerous flying, sea and staff appointments followed including Squadron commands and from 1968-1970 he was Captain of HMS Eagle. After serving as Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships and Flag Officer Naval Air Command, he was successively Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet which doubled as one of the top three commands in NATO.<BR>He left the Navy in 1977 at the age of 52 to follow a business career which began with National Car Parks. He then ran Hugh Hefner's Playboy casino interests including those in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1982. Initially a non-executive director in 1978, he became Executive Deputy Chairman of the Westland Group until 1989.<BR>Elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (1973), he was knighted in 1975. A member of the Press Council (1978-1981) he still has a number of business and charitable interests in the UK and continental Europe.