Sydney Thomas Franklin Ryder, Baron Ryder of Eaton Hastings (16 September 1916 – 12 May 2003), known as Don Ryder, was a businessman and Labour peer. The one-time Chair of the
National Enterprise Board
The National Enterprise Board (NEB) was a United Kingdom government body. It was set up in 1975 by the Labour government of Harold Wilson, to support the government's interventionist approach to industry. In 1981 the Conservative government of Mar ...
, he was involved in the creation of the
Ryder Report, a restructuring plan for
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
during the 1970s.
Life
Born in
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
,
Ryder attended
Ealing County Grammar School (as it was then known).
He was employed between 1950 and 1960 as editor at the London Stock Exchange Gazette, subsequently serving as the publication's managing director between 1961 and 1963. This proved the launch pad for a career in publishing and related businesses. He served as chairman and chief executive of
Reed International
RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...
between 1968 and 1975. In that year, in a desperate bid to stem Britain's accelerating industrial decline, the recently elected
Wilson government created the
National Enterprise Board (NEB), as part of a more interventionist economic strategy. Don Ryder was
ennobled
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and appointed to chair the NEB, which he did between 1975 and 1977.
[
]
Personal
Don Ryder married Eileen Dodds in 1950. The marriage resulted in two recorded children.[
]
Honours
Knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1972, Ryder was created a Life Peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Ryder of Eaton Hastings, of Eaton Hastings
Eaton Hastings is a village and civil parish beside the River Thames about two-and-a-half miles (4 km) north-west of Faringdon. It was in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. Eaton Hastings was once la ...
in the County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
on 15 July 1975.
See also
*Austin Rover Group
The Austin Rover Group (abbreviated ARG) was a British motor manufacturer. It was created in 1982 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). Previously, this entity had been known as BL Cars Ltd (formerly Leyland C ...
References
1916 births
2003 deaths
Businesspeople awarded knighthoods
Knights Bachelor
Labour Party (UK) life peers
People educated at Ealing County Grammar School for Boys
20th-century English businesspeople
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
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