Paul John Lester (born 20 September 1949) is a British businessman who is chairman of McCarthy & Stone, Forterra and Essentra.Lester graduated from Trent Polytechnic with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and a Diploma in Management Studies.
He was CEO of Graseby from 1990 to 1997 and CEO of VT Group from 2002 to 2010.
He has held chairmanships at A&P Group, Marine Current Turbines, Survitec Group, John Laing Infrastructure Fund and Greenergy.
He was president of EEF from 2000 to 2003, and of the Business Services Association from 2004 to 2007.