Michael Edwardes

Sir Michael Owen Edwardes (11 October 1930 – 15 September 2019)[1] was a British-South African business executive who held chairmanships at several companies including motor manufacturer British Leyland.

Sir

Michael Edwardes
Born
Michael Owen Edwardes

(1930-10-11)11 October 1930
Port Elizabeth, Union of South Africa
Died15 September 2019(2019-09-15) (aged 88)
NationalitySouth African, British
EducationRhodes University
EmployerBritish Leyland
TitleChairman
Term1977–1982
Children3

For those of a similar name, see Michael Edwards (disambiguation).

Education

Edwardes was born in Port Elizabeth, and was matriculated from St. Andrew's College in 1947 before graduating from Rhodes University.[2]

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 National Enterprise Board, a quango whose role was to provide financing to large UK state-owned enterprises (or nationalized industries), including the country's ailing motor giant, British Leyland, when it was established in 1975. In 1977, he was appointed as chief executive of British Leyland, and within two weeks he became chairman[4] as the company's board was 'pruned' from 13 to 7 members.[5] In 1979, he was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours.[6]

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 ICL, but resigned six months later when the company was acquired by STC.[8] He then became chairman of Dunlop Holdings until its 1985 sale to BTR plc, briefly returned to Chloride as chairman in 1986, and in 1988 became chairman of Charter Consolidated.[9]

In his book Back from the Brink, Edwardes discusses his experiences at British Leyland.

Personal life

In 1958 Edwardes married Mary Margaret Finlay, a psychotherapist and anti-apartheid campaigner. The couple, who had three daughters, divorced in 1984.[10]

Book
  • Back from the Brink, HarperCollins 1983, ISBN 978-0-00217-098-7

References
  1. "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.
  2. Adeney, Martin (18 September 2019). "Sir Michael Edwardes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  3. Feder, Barnaby J. (24 March 1985). "Britain's Mr. Fix-It: Sir Michael Edwardes". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  4. Freestone, Nigel (2014). 365 Days of Motoring: An Everyday Journey Through Its History, Facts and Trivia. Summersdale Publishers Ltd. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-78372-257-0.
  5. "MotorWeek: Surgery for survival". Motor. Vol. 152: nbr 3919. 26 November 1977. p. 2.
  6. "Newsflashes". Motor. Vol. 155 nbr 4002. 23 June 1979. p. 4.
  7. Lorenz, Andrew (20 September 2009). "How the Warrior rescued GKN from 1980s slump". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  8. "Obituary: Sir Christophor Laidlaw". The Telegraph. 12 December 2010. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  9. "Edwardes, Michael". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  10. James, Oliver (18 February 1999). "Obituary: Mary Edwardes". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
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