Background
Edwardes, Michael Owen was born on October 11, 1930 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Son of Denys Owen and Audrey Noel (Copeland) Edwardes.
Edwardes, Michael Owen was born on October 11, 1930 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Son of Denys Owen and Audrey Noel (Copeland) Edwardes.
Attended, St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown, South Africa. Degree in Law, Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
Edwardes matriculated from Saint Andrew"s College in 1947 before graduating from Rhodes University. He began his career in 1951 with the Chloride Group. He went on in 1966 to serve as the general manager of Alkaline Batteries, one of the groups operating companies at Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom. He later joined the Chloride main board and became Chief Executive in 1971 and remained in that position until 1977
He was appointed to the United Kingdom"s National Enterprise Board, a QUANGO whose role was to provide financing to large United Kingdom state-owned enterprises (or nationalized industries), including the country"s ailing motor giant, British Leyland, when it was established in 1975.
In 1977 he was appointed as chief executive of British Leyland, and within two weeks he became chairman as the company"s board was "pruned" from 13 to 7 members.
In 1979 he was knighted in the Queen"s Birthday Honours. The next year, in 1980 he attracted criticism for a speech to the China, Burma, India Theatre of Operations Conference in which he said, "If the Cabinet do not have the wit and imagination to reconcile our industrial needs with the fact of North Sea oil, they would do better to leave the bloody stuff in the ground."
His tenure with British Leyland lasted until 1982, when he was replaced by Harold Musgrove.
In 1984, he became Chairman of International Computers Limited, but resigned six months later when the company was acquired by Society for Technical Communication. Edwardes wrote Back from the Brink, a book which discusses his experiences at British Leyland. He donated over R500,000 to Saint Andrew"s College in 2005.
Member Rockwell Internat's. European Advisory Board, Kaye Organization, 1987—1988. Vice chairman CBIM, 1977—1980.
Board directors International Management and Development Institute, Washington, since 1978. Fellow: British Institute Management. Member: Institution Mechanical Engineers (honorary), Jesters Club, Rand & Country Club (Johannesburg, South Africa), Royal Automobile Club (London), Veterans Squash Club (Great Britain).
Married Sheila Ann Guy, 1988. Children: Susan, Judy, Penelope.