Roy Drysdale Brown, FIMechE, FIET (4 December 1946 – 28 November 2024) was a British engineer and business executive, who was the chairman of the international engineering conglomerate GKN from 2004 until 2012.

Life and career

Brown attended the independent

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

. He went to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

on a GEC scholarship where he gained a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. He worked for

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

from 1974 to 2001, and later became chairman of the Scottish telecommunications company

Thus Thus was a telecommunications provider operating in the United Kingdom based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was once listed on the London Stock Exchange and became a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW). Following the acquisition o ...

. Brown joined GKN as a non-executive director in 1996 and became the company's chairman in May 2004. He was replaced by Michael Turner in May 2012. Brown married Carol Wallace in 1978 and they had two sons. He became a Fellow of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 member ...

in 1983, and a Fellow of the IEE (now

IET __NOTOC__ IET can refer to: Organizations * Institute of Educational Technology, part of the Open University * Institution of Engineering and Technology, a UK-based professional engineering institution ** Institute of Engineers and Technicians, wh ...

) in 1990. Brown died on 28 November 2024, at the age of 77.

References

1946 births 2024 deaths Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers People educated at Tonbridge School {{UK-engineer-stub