Life Stories
John Andrew Claughton
John Andrew Claughton (1997 BA Geography) died on 6 April 2026 aged 47.
John was born in Southampton on 28 October 1978 and passed away suddenly in Cheshire on 6 April 2026. He attended King Edward VI School in Southampton where he was Head of School in his final year. His passion for cricket began at an early age, reinforced by several generations of cricketing playing Claughtons, and, after working his way up through the Hampshire leagues, he was appointed captain of England Schoolboy U15s. He made his way to Keble in 1997 to study Geography and threw himself into both College and University life. From playing in rugby, cricket and netball Cuppers each year, to being an invaluable member of the Keble 2nd rowing crew during Summer Eights 1998, he was a popular and active member of Keble College and made life-long friendships. His proudest achievement was undoubtedly making his first class cricketing debut for OUCC against Worcestershire in 1998, achieving 3 Blues and most notably captaining the team in the 1998–1999 season, beating Cambridge soundly in the one day match. Indeed, he is one of three Claughtons to have played cricket for Oxford, something which he was always extremely proud of. He scored 503 runs over 3 seasons and ended his time with a top score of 85 and a batting average of 25.15. In addition, he represented the University as fly-half for the Oxford Whippets in the 1997–1998 season and then the U21s for the 1998–1999 season. He met his future wife, Emma (née Wilson) at Keble in Hilary Term 1998 and they were married at Keble College Chapel on 13 August 2005.
John joined Procter & Gamble straight after graduating in September 2000 as an Assistant Brand Manager on brands such as Ariel, Fairy, Charmin and Bounty, beginning his career in Newcastle. In 2003, he moved to Geneva, Switzerland as a Brand Manager on Bounty and when Procter & Gamble bought Gillette, he moved to Boston in 2006 as Brand Manager and then Associate Director for Blades and Razors to help oversee the integration. In Boston, he ignited his passion for sports marketing and Boston Sports – the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Bruins and the Celtics – which became a theme throughout the remainder of his career. He was a regular fixture in the Gillette box at the New England Patriots home games, cheering on Tom Brady and formed a strong and lasting relationship with The Kraft Group. A move back to Geneva in 2011 as Associate Marketing Director for Air Care, solidified his long and highly successful career at Procter & Gamble. After several promotions, a highly successful Flash advertising campaign (the original singing dog advert) and a Super Bowl campaign for Mr Clean, he jumped at the chance to move back to Boston in 2019 to become Vice President of Marketing for Northern American Gillette, Venus and Braun. After 25 years at Procter & Gamble, John made the incredibly difficult decision to move onto pastures new and accepted a position as Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Stokke in September 2025, where in typical John fashion, he quickly made himself an invaluable part of the team.
In spite of an incredibly long and successful career, his proudest achievements were undoubtedly his two children, Joshua (born in 2008) and Lucie (born in 2011), both of whom were christened at Keble. John will be remembered above all for being the most wonderfully loyal and loving husband of 21 years to Emma and a devoted and proud father to Joshua and Lucie. He was never happier than skiing or hiking in the mountains in his beloved Gryon with his family, with the occasional round of golf thrown in for good measure. He prided himself in investing in relationships that meant something, choosing to spend his time with people who wanted the best for him. His long-lasting and meaningful friendships with both school friends and university friends is testament to this. He was incredibly reflective and felt strongly that you should always listen like you might learn something new. He lived by a set of values including honesty, growth, responsibility, loyalty, resilience and good humour and we are proud to say that he did this honourably. He will be forever loved and missed in equal measure.
Kindly provided by his wife, Emma Claughton (1997).