Martin Naughton (born 2 May 1939), an Irish-British billionaire businessman and engineer. He is the founder of GlenDimplex, a company specializing in electrical appliances

Early life

Naughton is an alumnus of De La Salle College Dundalk, where he funds an annual scholarship programme. He is a donor to a number of educational institutions, notably

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

Career

Naughton founded Glen Electric in August 1973 with a small manufacturing facility employing just ten people in

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...

, County Down,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. In 1977, Dimplex, the leading brand in the UK electrical heating market was acquired by Glen Electrics forming the Glen Dimplex Group. The company set out acquiring further businesses across the UK, with

Morphy Richards Morphy Richards is a British brand of electrical appliances headquartered in Swinton, in South Yorkshire, England. Its products were formerly made at its historic home of Mexborough, and in other facilities across the United Kingdom. However, si ...

, the market leader in small domestic appliances in 1985 followed by Blanella, a manufacturer of electric blankets and Burco Dean Appliances, a manufacturer of products for the catering industry, all in the same year. The 1990s saw the company forge its powers of acquisition and strategic business thinking to acquire further businesses across Europe and beyond. An engineer by profession, Naughton has overseen his company to become the world's largest manufacturer in domestic heating appliances. His company has plants in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

, the United Kingdom and North America. His business has more than 8000 staff and 22 manufacturing facilities with annual sales of around $1.6 billion. Naughton's stake in the company is worth around £273 million with other investments including an art collection, property in Dublin and shares in the Merrion Hotel Group and the '' Sunday Tribune'' newspaper. Naughton was involved in negotiating cross-border trade and promotion and support of businesses during the

Northern Ireland conflict The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an ...

Honours

In 1995,

awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 2016, Naughton was awarded the French

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. In 2017,

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Personal life

He is married, with three children, and lives in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

. In 2016, his son Fergal Naughton took over as CEO of GlenDimplex. In 2016, Naughton and his wife Carmel were named philanthropists of the year by the Community Foundation for Ireland. In May 2018, Business for Peace Foundation gave Naughton a ''Business for Peace Award'' in recognition of his efforts in promoting the private sector’s contribution to peace and environmental sustainability. In November 2018, he was named as the ''Outstanding Contribution to Business Award'' winner at the

Irish Post ''The Irish Post'' is a national newspaper for the Irish community in Great Britain. It is published every Wednesday and is sold in shops in Britain and Ireland. History The first print edition of ''The Irish Post'' was published on Friday, ...

Awards 2018. Naughton lives at Stackallan House, County Meath which he purchased from

Margaret Heffernan Margaret Heffernan (born 1955) is an entrepreneur, CEO, writer and keynote speaker. She is currently a professor of Practice at the University of Bath School of Management in the UK. Heffernan is the former chief executive officer of five busin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naughton, Martin Living people 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Irish chief executives Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Irish billionaires 1939 births