Anthony John Richard Purssell (born 5 July 1926), known as Tony Purssell,"Presidents and Vice-Presidents"
Epilepsy Society. Retrieved 12 August 2016. is an English

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

executive, businessman and Olympic rower. He was President of the

Institute of Brewing The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) is an industry trade association for brewers and distillers, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. The IBD had its headquarters at Clarges Street in London London until 2014 at which t ...

Life

Purssell was born in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, India, on 5 July 1926. In 1952, he married Ann Margaret Batchelor and with her had two sons and one daughter.''Who's Who in the World'', 6th ed., 1982 (Marquis Who's Who Inc.), p. 889"Purssell, Anthony John Richard"
''Who's Who 2016'' (online edition), Oxford University Press, November 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Purssell graduated from

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

honours degree in chemistry in 1948. While at Oxford, he gained three blues for rowing, representing the university in the boat race between 1946 and 1948. He rowed for Great Britain in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

in the coxed four and they were eliminated in the quarter-final. He joined Guinness's Park Royal site as a brewer in 1948. Seven years later, he became head of its research laboratory and then in 1960 became brewer in charge of brewing. Three years later, he became director of Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (Park Royal) Ltd. and was appointed the company's Director of Personnel.''Management Today'', 1972 (Haymarket Press), p. 301 In 1968, Purssell became the firm's Managing Director and in 1973 took the same position at Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (Dublin) Ltd. He held that post until 1975, when he took up the equivalent position at Arthur Guinness & Sons Plc between 1975 and 1981. He became that company's Joint Deputy Chairman in 1981, serving for two years. Purssell was a member of the

Independent Broadcasting Authority The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television (ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Authorit ...

(1976–81), the

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

(1984–90), and the Thames Valley and South Midlands Regional Board; he was also a Regional Director (1982–91) and Chairman (1989–91) of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

Plc. He was a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

between 1985 and 1992; the following year, he became Trustee for the

National Society for Epilepsy The Epilepsy Society (formerly known as the National Society for Epilepsy) is the largest medical charity in the field of epilepsy in the United Kingdom, providing services for people with epilepsy for over 100 years. Based in Chalfont St Peter, ...

; he was the organisation's Chairman between 1995 and 1998, ceased to be a Trustee in 2008, and was appointed vice-president in 2010. Purssell was also on the Council of the

between 1960 and 1963, and again between 1968 and 1972, when he was elected its Deputy President. In 1974, he became its president for a two-year term,"Seventy-First Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Brewing Held at 42 Portman Square, London, W.1 on 31st May, 1974"
''Journal of the Institute of Brewing''. vol. 80, issue 4 (July–August 1974), p. 327 and later served as a vice-president. He is also fellow of the institute, and of the Incorporated Brewers' Guild, as well as a Companion of the

British Institute of Management The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. The major membership classes are ''Member'', ''Fellow'' - for those with significant expertise - and ''Companion'' - the most sen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purssell, Anthony John Richard 1926 births English brewers Living people Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford People from Shimla Oxford University Boat Club rowers English male rowers Rowers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of Great Britain