Michael Edwardes

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Sir Michael Owen Edwardes (born October 11, 1930 in South Africa ; † September 15, 2019 near London ) was a South African-born British economic manager who was CEO of companies such as Chloride Group , Leyland Motors and International Computers Limited .

Life

After attending St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown , Edwardes began studying at Rhodes University in the same city in 1947 . In 1951 he worked in Africa for the Chloride Group, which was founded in London in 1891 and is Great Britain's largest supplier of uninterruptible power supply for hospitals and other public buildings. In 1966 he took up his first job in Great Britain within the Chloride Group, when he first became commercial director and later managing director of Alkaline Batteries , the group's smallest subsidiary . In doing so, he proved to be a forward-thinking manager of the ailing company by setting moderate business goals and building an enthusiastic management team to achieve those corporate goals. This led to his being appointed CEO of the Chloride Group in 1974.

In 1977 Edwardes was asked to reorganize the engine manufacturer Leyland Motors, which was nationalized in 1975 after massive economic problems , which was considered to be almost impossible due to the undesirable business developments of the previous years. As chairman of the board, he managed to reorganize the company through strict management and the implementation of high expectations, so that within the next five years the automobile industry was reprivatised, supported by the British government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . In doing so, he not only reduced the board from 13 to 7 board members, but also had a large part of the company's factories closed and most of the workforce released.

For his services he was raised to a Knight Bachelor degree in 1979 and from then on carried the suffix "Sir". He published his experiences during the redevelopment of Leyland Motors in the book Back from the Brink (1983).

After leaving Leyland Motors in 1984, he was CEO of International Computers Limited (ICL), but resigned from that post only six months later after the company of Standard Telephones and Cables (STC) acquired had been.

family

In 1958 he married the psychotherapist and anti-apartheid activist Mary Margaret Finlay (born March 9, 1938, † February 13, 1999). The couple divorced in 1978 and had three daughters.

Publications

Web links and sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brooke Barnes: Michael Edwardes, Hard-Nosed Rescuer of British Car Giant, Dies at 88. In: The New York Times , September 23, 2019 (English). Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ Obituary: Mary Edwardes in The Independent
personal data
SURNAME Edwardes, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Edwardes, Sir Michael Owen (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African-British business manager
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH South Africa
DATE OF DEATH 15th September 2019
Place of death near London