Sir John Harvey-Jones MBE

11 January 2008

We are very sad to report the death of our Vice President, Sir John Harvey-Jones MBE.

Sir John began his career with the Royal Navy and later worked in intelligence appointments and at the Cabinet Office. After resigning from the navy with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he joined the work-study department of ICI in 1956 and worked his way up the ranks to become Chairman in 1987.

Sir John was the Chancellor of Bradford University, a Vice President of the Royal Society of Arts, Vice Chairman of the Policy Studies Institute and Institute of Marketing, and a Trustee of the Science Museum. He was on the Boards of a number of companies, including The Economist, of which he was Chairman, and Grand Metropolitan. Besides Deafness Research UK, his charitable interests included the Prince’s Youth Business Trust, the British Polio Fellowship, the Book Trust and Friends of Brecon Jazz.

He was probably best known for the BBC2 series The Troubleshooter, which won a special BAFTA award for Originality. In 2002 Sir John was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the prestigious National Business Awards.

John became aware of the problems of deafness during his time in the Navy, and was a great supporter of Deafness Research UK for many years. We greatly valued John's support and we send our sincere condolences to his family.