Sir Nigel Rudd, (born 31 December 1946 in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, England) is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. In 1982, he founded Williams Holdings, a company which went on to become one of the largest industrial holding companies in the United Kingdom until its demerger in November 2000, creating Chubb plc and

Kidde Kidde () is a brand and division of Carrier Global that manufactures and distributes fire detection and suppression equipment, as well as smoke and CO alarm units. Kidde is one of America's largest manufacturer of smoke alarms and fire safety pr ...

plc. He became the non-executive chairman of Kidde plc until December 2003. He currently presides as chairman of

BBA Aviation Signature Aviation is a British multinational aviation services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The company has been known by numerous names over the years, having been founded as ''W. Wilson Cobbett Ltd'' in 1879; it was ren ...

PLC.

Career

Rudd began his career as a troubleshooter for London & Northern, a holding company with subsidiaries in a range of industries. In 1982 he bought the Williams engineering company with business partner Brian McGowan. Rudd and McGowan went on to acquire and rebrand a portfolio of under-performing industrial companies throughout the Eighties. Rudd has been in positions of prominence at several corporations, including serving as Chairman of BAA Limited,

The Boots Company Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists), trading as Boots, is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and other countries and territories including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand a ...

Pilkington PLC Pilkington is a Japanese-owned glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, United Kingdom. In the UK it includes several legal entities and is a subsidiary of Japanese company NSG Group. Prior to its acquisition by NSG i ...

and Pendragon PLC, and Deputy Chairman of Barclays PLC until January 2009. He also holds a number of other public appointments including Chairman of the CBI Boardroom Issues Group and a member of the Financial Reporting Council. Sir Nigel Rudd sits on the board of directors at the following companies BAA Aviation PLC (Chairman/non-executive director since 2014). Rudd previously held the directorships in Longbow Capital LLP (Director, 2004–2013) and Pendragon PLC (Chairman/NE Director, 1989–2010). Rudd is one of the founders of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation

Personal life

Sir Nigel Rudd was born in Derby on 31 December 1946. His father worked for the civil service as a Weights and Measures Inspector. Rudd married his wife Lesley in 1969. The couple have three children. He is a keen golfer, chairing the board of directors of the exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club, and supporter of

Derby County Football Club Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Education

Rudd attended Bemrose Grammar School, Derby. Following his elder brother into accountancy, Rudd qualified as Britain's youngest chartered accountant at the age of 20.

Awards and honours

In 1996, Rudd was

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 ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

for services to the manufacturing industry. He holds honorary degrees at multiple tertiary institutions, namely Loughborough and

Universities. In 1995, he was awarded the Founding Societies Centenary Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. Rudd was Chancellor of

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

from July 2010 to July 2015. He is the Patron of

Derby Grammar School Derby Grammar School is a selective independent school in Littleover near the city of Derby, England. Founded in 1995, to recreate the historical Derby School, (which had become mixed-Comprehensive in the 1970s, and then changed name in 1989), i ...

References

External links

LU Profile
Loughborough University profile on Sir Nigel Rudd

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudd, Nigel 1946 births British chairpersons of corporations Living people People educated at Bemrose School Chancellors of Loughborough University Deputy Lieutenants of Derbyshire Barclays people Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor People named in the Panama Papers People from Derby