Macpherson first worked as an economist at the CBI and Peat Marwick Consulting.
Treasury Macpherson entered
HM Treasury in 1985. From 1993 to 1997, he was
Principal Private Secretary to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer; he oversaw the transition from
Kenneth Clarke to
Gordon Brown as Chancellor. From 1998 to 2001, he was Director of Welfare Reform. From 2001 to 2004, he was head of the Public Services Directorate, where he managed the 2000 and 2002
spending reviews. From 2004 to 2005 Macpherson managed the Budget and Public Finance Directorate, where he was responsible for tax policy and the budget process. Macpherson succeeded
Sir Gus (now Lord) O'Donnell as Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, when the latter moved to be the
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service in 2005. Macpherson came to prominence during the
2014 Scottish independence referendum when he advised
George Osborne against entering into
a currency union with any Scottish independent state, which was contrary to initial
Scottish National Party plans.
Other positions Macpherson was a
visiting fellow at
Nuffield College, Oxford, and is a visiting professor at
King's College London. Macpherson is Chairman of
C. Hoare & Co and the Scottish American Investment Trust. ==Personal life==