Sir Ronald Halstead KBE (17 May 1927 – 18 June 2021) was a British businessman who was chairman and chief executive of the

Beecham Group The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo We ...

from 1984 to 1985 and deputy chairman of British Steel from 1986 to 1994.

Biography

Halstead was born on 17 May 1927 in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a branch ...

, to Richard Halstead and Bessie (née Harrison), the elder of two sons. He was educated at

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is a selective grammar school (day and boarding) for boys aged 11–18 in Lancaster, England, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Old students belong to The Old Lancastrians. The school's sixth form opened to gi ...

and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, c ...

, where he obtained a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

degree in natural science and gained an athletics

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

. He began his working life as a research chemist with

H. P. Bulmer H.P. Bulmer is a cider-making company founded in 1887 in Hereford, England. The company's two principal brands are its own Bulmers cider, which is sold worldwide, and Strongbow, which is sold across Europe, the US & Canada, Oceania and ...

. He joined Beecham in 1954 as a manufacturing manager with Macleans Ltd. 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. He returned to the U.K. in 1964, joining the board of Beecham, and became managing director for consumer products in 1973. He was appointed chairman and chief executive of

in 1984, leaving in 1985 after 18 months following a boardroom coup. Halstead joined the board of British Steel as a non-executive director in 1979, becoming deputy chairman in 1986 until 1994. He held numerous directorships, appointments in government and industry working groups and other organisations. Halstead 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in 1976 for services to the food industry and knighted in 1985. 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). He died on 18 June 2021, aged 94, of heart failure.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halstead, Ronald 1927 births 2021 deaths British businesspeople Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge People from Lancaster, Lancashire