Will Butler-Adams
William David Butler-Adams (born 11 May 1974 in London)[1] OBE[2] FRGS is the managing director of Brompton Bicycle Limited[3][4][5][6] a manufacturer based in the United Kingdom[7] and Brompton Bike Hire Limited[5] a provider of bicycle-sharing systems.[8][9]
Education and early life edit
Butler-Adams was born in London, the last of four children of Rosalie, daughter of Major General William Pat Arthur Bradshaw and David Bernard Butler-Adams (b. 1939), a wine merchant. David's father was Derek Butler-Adams (1908–1996). David's mother was Beatrice Margaret Baker (1911–1994), the latter by whom William David Butler-Adams is related to Anglican priest Robin Griffith-Jones, cricket enthusiast Nigel Baker and British politician Peter Baker.
Butler-Adams was educated at Aysgarth School in Yorkshire[1] and Rugby School from 1987 to 1992 in Warwickshire.[10] He was awarded a first class Master of Engineering (MEng) degree in Mechanical engineering from Newcastle University in 1997.[1] During his degree he studied the Spanish language at the University of Valladolid in Spain.[11]
Career edit
He started his career as a project manager for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) where he worked from 1997 to 2000 and continued as a Plant Manager for DuPont from 2000 to 2002.[1] He joined Brompton at the age of 28,[12] following a serendipitous meeting with the company's chairman, Tim Guinness, on a coach journey.[13]
At Brompton, he was promoted to director in 2006 and managing director (aka CEO) in 2008.[13] Since 2002, Brompton has increased in size by an order of magnitude, from around 27 employees to over 200 employees while turnover has increased from around £2 million to £25 million.[13][14] As of 2016[update] he serves as a commissioner on the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.[14][15][16]
Awards and honours edit
Butler-Adams has been a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE) since 1993 and a Fellow (FIMechE) since 2014.[1] He qualified as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) in 2001[1] and has been a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society since 2013.[1] He was appointed Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours.[2]
Personal life edit
Butler-Adams married Sarah Georgina MacIntyre in 2004[1] and has three daughters.[17] His recreations include aviation (he holds a private pilot licence) and wine (he has been a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Vintners since 2010).[1]
Other recreations include travel and the environment: in 1995 he led a nine-week expedition up the Amazon River, which was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary[better source needed] and also led an expedition to summit of Aconcagua in 2000, which raised over £130,000 for charitable causes.[1][clarification needed]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "BUTLER-ADAMS, William David". Who's Who. Vol. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b "No. 61092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N10.
- ^ Shaw, Dougal (2016). . London: BBC. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ . London: Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016.
- ^ a b . London: Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016.
- ^ Dugdale, Addy (2010). . Fast Company. New York. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015.
- ^ Will Butler Adams explains which bits of the Brompton bike are made in Britain on YouTube, published by the Made in Britain Campaign
- ^ Will Butler-Adams on Twitter
- ^ An interview with Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycles on YouTube, published by PricewaterhouseCoopers
- ^ Anon (2015). . rugbyschool.co.uk. Rugby: Rugby School. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016.
- ^ Cummins, Kate (2011). . theengineer.co.uk. London: The Engineer. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016.
- ^ Hughes-Penney, Robert (2015). . rathbones.com. London: Rathbones. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016.
- ^ a b c Smale, Will (2013). . London: BBC. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016.
- ^ a b . London: Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016.
- ^ LSBF Great Minds Series: Will Butler-Adams from Brompton Bicycle on YouTube, published by the London School of Business and Finance
- ^ The story behind Brompton Bicycles, Will Butler-Adams on YouTube, published by Good Person To Know (GPTK)
- ^ Urwin, Rosamund (2015). . London Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016.