Raymond Stuart Kelvin

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born on 11 December 1955 in north London) is the founder and former chief executive of the retail clothing retail company

Ted Baker Ted Baker is a British high-street clothing retail company known for suits, shirts, and dresses. It was founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland. The company is owned by Authentic Brands Group, after its £211 million acquisition in October 2022. T ...

. He started working in his uncle's menswear shop in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

at the age of eleven and founded the Ted Baker brand in 1988 when he opened a shop specialising in men's shirts in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Early life and education

Kelvin, who is Jewish, grew up in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, north London, and was educated at JFS.

Awards

Kelvin was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in business administration from the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in 2007. In the 2011 New Year Honours, he was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) for services to the

fashion industry Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashio ...

Personal life

Kelvin was married for six years to actress

Georgia Slowe Georgia Slowe (born 3 June 1966) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Perdita Hyde-Sinclair on the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2006 to 2008. Slowe received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her performance as ...

before splitting up in 1999 and divorcing in 2000. They have two sons. In March 2012, Kelvin married his second wife, Clare, with whom he has a daughter. In his spare time he enjoys

fly-fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly differ ...

. He is a Conservative Party donor.

Harassment allegations

A former employee created a petition in 2018 that received 2,000 signatures to put an end to his hugs and allegedly inappropriate activities with staff, as a result of an unconfirmed lack of support from Ted Baker's HR department. On 7 December 2018 it was announced that Kelvin would be taking voluntary leave of absence from the company. On 4 March 2019, following an internal independent committee investigation, it was announced that Kelvin had resigned and would be leaving Ted Baker with immediate effect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelvin, Ray 1955 births Living people 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century Jews 21st-century British Jews 21st-century English businesspeople British retail company founders Businesspeople from London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) donors English businesspeople in fashion English businesspeople in retailing English chief executives English Jews People educated at JFS (school) Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom People associated with the University of Bath People from Edmonton, London Retail company founders