Gerald Corbett - After Railtrack

After Railtrack

In March 2001, he was back at the helm of another major company, Woolworths, appointed to oversee the demerger of Woolworths Group from Kingfisher. Once this was completed in August 2001, he remained on the board as Chairman.

In October 2003, he was appointed non-executive chairman of Health Club Holdings, the Holmes Place fitness clubs business, which he stepped down from at the end of 2005 following his appointment as Chairman of soft drinks company Britvic, to oversee its flotation in December 2005 on the London Stock Exchange. Since floatation Britvic's profits have doubled, the business has expanded into Ireland and France and the share price is over twice the floatation price.

He has also been a non-executive director of Burmah-Castrol plc and the MEPC property group.

In July 2005 he was appointed as Chairman of SSL International, the company that manufactures and sells internationally Durex contraceptives and Scholl footwear and footcare products. In the last five years SSL's profits have trebled as the business has expanded into Russia, the Ukraine and China, benefitting also from major new product development. On 20 July 2010 the SSL Board accepted a £2.5 billion offer for the company from Reckitt Benckiser plc. Over the 5 year period this represents an improvement in shareholder value of almost 400 per cent making it one of the best performing shares on the London market over that time period. The Lex column in the Financial Times described the price as "gutsy at twenty times ebitda" on 22 July. Nils Prately in the Guardian said that "SSL was the clear winner of the deal". Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail wrote that "it was a fairy tale for SSL shareholders"

He stepped down as chairman of Woolworths at the AGM in June 2007 after completing his second three year term. He was appointed chairman of Moneysupermarket.com in July 2007, the price comparison website which floated on the London Stock Exchange in the same month.

He became Chair of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People on 26 October 2007.

Between 2004 and 2010 he was a non-executive director of Greencore Group plc, the Irish food company headquartered in Dublin. In May 2009 he was appointed a director of Numis Plc, the investment banking and stockbroking business based in the city of London. He was Chairman of the Governors of Abbot's Hill School between 1997–2002 and has been a governor of Luton University. In 2010 he served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire

In the recent past Corbett has kept out of the public eye, focusing on his Chairmanships at SSL International Plc, Britvic Plc, Moneysupermarket.com Plc and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.