Lord Stevenson spent his first 20 years post-university as a serial entrepreneur; he subsequently spent 15 years chairing large companies, including Pearson plc, GPA plc and HBOS plc. He has now reverted to his entrepreneurial roots mainly through a venture capital company, Loudwater Investment Partners.

Lord Stevenson is a Non Executive Director of The Western Union Company and The Economist.  He is Chairman of Aldeburgh Music, a Director of Glyndebourne Productions, Chancellor of the University of the Arts London and on the Advisory Board for Rare, a recruitment organisation which focuses on promoting diversity. He was Chairman of the Trustees of the Tate Gallery in the 90s and has recently stood down after eight years as Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. In 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music.