Sir William Norman Adsetts (6 March 1931 – 25 April 2023) was a British businessman. He joined firm

SIG plc SIG plc is a British-based international supplier of insulation, roofing, commercial interiors and specialist construction products. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Ernest Adsetts in 1957 Sheffie ...

in 1966 and ran as

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 1970 to 1996.

Early years

Born in 1931, the son of Ernest Norman Adsetts, Adsetts was educated at King Edward VII School in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. After undertaking his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

he joined Fibreglass Ltd as a graduate trainee in 1955. He and his sister (May Adsetts) lived at 139 Norton Lane, Sheffield. In 1966 he became a director at ''Sheffield Insulating Company'': he went on to be

in 1970,

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

in 1985 and Life President in 1996. Adsetts held a number of other positions, including chairman of the Yorkshire and Humberside Region of the CBI from 1989 to 1991, chairman of the Sheffield Partnership Limited from 1987 to 1992, deputy chairman of

Sheffield Development Corporation The Sheffield Development Corporation (SDC) was created in 1988 to oversee the urban regeneration of the Lower Don Valley area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. History The area had been the major industrial region of Sheffield but had go ...

from 1991 to 1997, chairman of the board of governors at

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

from 1993 to 1999, Chairman of Sheffield Theatres Trust Ltd from 1996 to 2005, Trustee of the

Hillsborough Disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the tw ...

Appeal Fund from 1989 to 1996, chairman of Sheffield First for Investment from 1999 to 2002, chairman of the Kelham River-side Development Agency from 1998 to 2002, chairman of the governors of

Mount St Mary's College Mount St Mary's College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, co-educational, day and boarding school situated at Spinkhill, Derbyshire, England. It was founded in 1842 by the Society of Jesus (better known as the Jesuits), and h ...

from 1999 to date, member of the Hallam Diocese finance board from 1998 to 2004 and trustee of Research Autism from 2007 to date. Adsetts was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1988

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed in the

1999 Birthday Honours The 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday were announced on 7 June 1999 in New Zealand and Niue, and on 12 June 1999 in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. The recipients of honours are displayed h ...

Personal life

Adsetts married Eve Stefanuti in 1956. The couple had one daughter, one son, and eight grandchildren. Sir Norman Adsetts was a large contributor to autism foundations and became Chairman of Autism Plus in April 2009. Adsetts attributed his contribution to the fact that two of his own grandchildren are

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

. In 2012, Adsetts left the board of Autism Plus to become Chairman of The Adsetts Partnership, a holding company of which Autism Plus is a subsidiary. The Adsetts Partnership has also created a network of charities aiming to support the vulnerable. Sir Norman Adsetts died on 25 April 2023, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adsetts, Norman 1931 births 2023 deaths Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield