Sir Maurice Arthur Eric Hodgson (21 October 1919 – 1 October 2014) was chairman of ICI from 1978 to 1982, and of

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from 1982 to 1987 and chief executive from 1982 to 1985. Hodgson was appointed

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in 1979.Obituary

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, 6 Nov 2014 He also received an

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from Heriot-Watt University in 1979. As chairman, Hodgson felt that ICI needed to increase business in Europe, improve productivity and shift from bulk chemicals to higher value-added products. A fierce efficiency drive led to the loss of 30,000 jobs. His successor

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carried out many of the changes that Hodgson had initiated.

Biography

Maurice Arthur Eric Hodgson was born in Bradford and educated at

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...

. He read Chemistry at Merton College, Oxford and joined ICI at

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in 1942. By 1944 he was leading research connected with the

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. In the late 50s he was posted to New York for three years. He returned in 1960 to become Research Director of ICI's Heavy Organic Chemicals Division. As Chairman, Hodgson was hampered by near blindness after a cataract operation: For a time papers were read to him; he obtained a TV system to magnify the text;ICI Magazine, published monthly for employees and he used

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. He retired from ICI in 1982 and became chairman and chief executive of

. In 1985 this merged with Habitat to become Storehouse and he served on their board until 1989. In 1984 he attempted to save Dunlop but after a short time its bankers took control. Hodgson was knighted in 1979. He was awarded the Messel medal of the

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and the George E. Davis medal of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He was elected a

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of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1979. Hodgson enjoyed watching horse races and became an owner. In 1945 he married Norma Fawcett; she died in 2002. They had a son and a daughter.

References

1919 births 2014 deaths Businesspeople from Bradford Knights Bachelor British business executives Businesspeople awarded knighthoods English industrialists Imperial Chemical Industries executives Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering 20th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1910s-stub