Michael Edwardes
Sir Michael Edwardes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Owen Edwardes 11 October 1930 Port Elizabeth, Union of South Africa |
| Died | 15 September 2019 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | South African, British |
| Education | Rhodes University |
| Employer | British Leyland |
| Title | Chairman |
| Term | 1977–1982 |
| Children | 3 |
Sir Michael Owen Edwardes (11 October 1930 – 15 September 2019)[1] was a British-South African business executive who held chairmanships at several companies - most notably motor manufacturer British Leyland in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Education
Edwardes was born in
Career
Edwardes began his career in 1951 as a management trainee for battery manufacturer Chloride.[3] In 1966, he served as the general manager of Alkaline Batteries, one of the group's operating companies at Redditch, Worcestershire, UK. He later joined the Chloride main board, became chief executive in 1971 and remained in that position until 1977.
He was appointed to the UK's
The next year, he attracted criticism for a speech to the CBI Conference in which he said, "If the Cabinet do not have the wit and imagination to reconcile our industrial needs with the fact of North Sea oil, they would do better to leave the bloody stuff in the ground".[7] His tenure at British Leyland lasted until 1982, when he was replaced by Harold Musgrove.
In 1982, on his retirement from British Leyland as CEO, Edwardes was presented with a British racing green Jaguar XJS. He later had this car shipped to South Africa, where he used it for board meetings at General Motors South Africa in 1988.
In 1984, he became chairman of computer manufacturer
In his book Back from the Brink (1983), Edwardes discusses his experiences at British Leyland.[2]
Personal life
In 1958 Edwardes married Mary Margaret Finlay, a psychotherapist and anti-apartheid campaigner. The couple, who had three daughters, divorced in 1984.[11]
Book
- Back from the Brink, HarperCollins 1983, ISBN 978-0-00217-098-7
References
- ^ "Sir Michael Edwardes, pugnacious chairman of British Leyland who won the backing of the workforce to break the power of the shop stewards – obituary". The Telegraph. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Adeney, Martin (18 September 2019). "Sir Michael Edwardes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Feder, Barnaby J. (24 March 1985). "Britain's Mr. Fix-It: Sir Michael Edwardes". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-78372-257-0.
- Motor. Vol. 152: nbr 3919. 26 November 1977. p. 2.
- Motor. Vol. 155 nbr 4002. 23 June 1979. p. 4.
- ^ Lorenz, Andrew (20 September 2009). "How the Warrior rescued GKN from 1980s slump". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "Edwardes, Michael". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Brian Groom: ″Michael Edwardes, industrialist, 1930-2019″, in: The Financial Times, September 27, 2019
- ^ James, Oliver (18 February 1999). "Obituary: Mary Edwardes". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
External links
- Michael Edwardes arrives: Austin-Rover at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 September 2007)
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