Raymond Stuart Kelvin

CBE 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 ...

(born on 11 December 1955 in north London) is the founder and former chief executive of the retail clothing company

Ted Baker Ted Baker is a British clothing brand founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland, which traded in shops under the Ted Baker name until falling into administration in March 2024. It was relaunched online in November 2024. The brand is styled as 'Ted B ...

. He started working in his uncle's menswear shop in Enfield at the age of eleven and founded the Ted Baker brand in 1988 when he opened a shop specialising in men's shirts in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Early life and education

Kelvin, who is Jewish, grew up in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, north London, and was educated at JFS.

Awards

Kelvin was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in business administration from the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

in 2007. In the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 '' New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

, he was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(CBE) for services to the

fashion industry Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

Personal life

Kelvin was married for six years to actress Georgia Slowe before splitting up in 1999 and divorcing in 2000. They have two sons. In March 2012, Kelvin married his second wife, Clare (formerly Clare Kavanagh), with whom he has a daughter. In his spare time he enjoys

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

Harassment allegations

A former employee created a petition in 2018 that received 2,000 signatures to put an end to his hugs and allegedly inappropriate activities with staff, as a result of an unconfirmed lack of support from Ted Baker's HR department. On 7 December 2018, it was announced that Kelvin would be taking voluntary leave of absence from the company. On 4 March 2019, following an internal independent committee investigation, it was announced that Kelvin had resigned and would be leaving Ted Baker with immediate effect. Mr Kelvin came back to the firm on an advisory basis about a year after the "forced hugging" scandal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelvin, Ray 1955 births Living people 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century British Jews 21st-century British Jews 21st-century English businesspeople British retail company founders Businesspeople from the London Borough of Ealing Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) donors English businesspeople in fashion English businesspeople in retailing English chief executives English Jews People educated at JFS (school) Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom People associated with the University of Bath People from Edmonton, London