Ronald Halstead

Sir Ronald Halstead KBE (17 May 1927 – 18 June 2021) was a British businessman who was chairman and chief executive of the Beecham Group from 1984 to 1985 and deputy chairman of British Steel from 1986 to 1994.

Sir

Ronald Halstead

KBE
Born(1927-05-17)17 May 1927
Lancaster, Lancashire
Died18 June 2021(2021-06-18) (aged 94)
Alma materQueens' College, Cambridge
OccupationBusinessman
Known forChairman and Chief Executive of Beecham Group (1984-1985)
Deputy Chairman of British Steel (1986-1994)

Biography

Halstead was born on 17 May 1927 in Lancaster, Lancashire, to Richard Halstead and Bessie (née Harrison), the elder of two sons.[1] He was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Queens' College, Cambridge, where he obtained a M.A. degree in natural science and gained an athletics Blue.[1][2]

He began his working life as a research chemist with H. P. Bulmer.[3] He joined Beecham in 1954 as a manufacturing manager with Macleans Ltd.[1] In 1955, he was posted to the USA as factory manager of Beecham Products Inc. (USA), rising to become President of Beecham Research Labs Inc. (USA) in 1962.[2] He returned to the U.K. in 1964, joining the board of Beecham, and became managing director for consumer products in 1973.[2][4] He was appointed chairman and chief executive of Beecham Group in 1984, leaving in 1985 after 18 months following a boardroom coup.[1][4][5] Halstead joined the board of British Steel as a non-executive director in 1979, becoming deputy chairman in 1986 until 1994.[2][4] He held numerous directorships, appointments in government and industry working groups and other organisations.[2][4]

Halstead was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1976 for services to the food industry and knighted in 1985.[6][7] He was married twice: in 1968 to Yvonne de Monchaux (died 1978) with whom he had two children, and in 2000 to Susanne Stoessl (died 2013).[1] He died on 18 June 2021, aged 94, of heart failure.[1]

References
  1. "Sir Ronald Halstead obituary". The Times. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. Halstead, Sir Ronald. Who's Who. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U18724. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  3. Barrie, Chris (12 September 1991). "A white knight for manufacturing". The Engineer. Vol. 273, no. 7068. Centaur Communications Limited. p. 50. Retrieved 3 August 2021 – via Gale In Context: Biography.
  4. Tyrrell, Michael (22 June 2021), "EIA president Ronald Halstead passes away", Product Engineering Solutions, MIT Publishing, ISSN 1460-3926, archived from the original on 3 August 2021, retrieved 3 August 2021
  5. Feltham, Cliff (12 November 1985). "Directors oust Beecham chairman". The Times. p. 1. Retrieved 3 August 2021 – via Times Digital Archive.
  6. "No. 46919". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1976. p. 8022.
  7. "No. 50221". The London Gazette. 6 August 1985. p. 10816.
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