Denys Henderson
Encyclopedia
Sir Denys Henderson was chairman of ICI
from 1987 to 1995.
, Sri Lanka
, where his father was a tea planter. The family returned to Scotland
and Henderson went to school in Aberdeen
and graduated from the University of Aberdeen
in 1955 in Arts and Law with an M.A.
and an LL.B.
but never practised at a Law firm
. He says that it was his National Service
that finally convinced him to use his legal training, by showing him a side of the law which he could never aspire to in civvy street. He was a captain
in the directorate of army legal services
and for 18 months acted as a prosecuting attorney
handling everything from fraud, assault and attempted murder to what he has described, with great delicacy, as "various unnatural offences". After that kind of drama he said there was no way he could face the tedium of a provincial solicitor's office where wills and small debt summonses would be the highlights of life.
Henderson joined the main ICI board in 1980 and was appointed deputy chairman in 1986, succeeding Sir John Harvey-Jones
as chairman a year later. He was instrumental in implementing a major streamlining of ICI to help it ride out the recession and face up to the tough competition of the 1990s, including a severe belt tightening and decentralised organisation with a lot of authority delegated to the chief executives who ran the individual businesses.
In recognition of his service to not only his business but his country, Henderson was created a Knight Bachelor in 1989.
On 15 May 1991, Hanson
disclosed that it had purchased about 20 million, or 2.8 percent, of ICI's shares, leading to speculation of a possible takeover of what was at the time the UK's
third-largest company. A management team headed by Henderson and Frank Whitely, its deputy chairman, led the takeover-defense plan against Lord Hanson
, the chairman of Hanson, and his partner, Sir Gordon White (later Lord White of Hull
), enlisting the help of S. G. Warburg & Co, the British investment bank
, and Goldman, Sachs & Company
, the American investment bank. Lord Hanson was forced to back down from the takeover.
Henderson was also in charge when ICI split in two in June 1993 to create Zeneca
. He said "the demerger will produce two powerful, focused new companies able to concentrate even more on strengthening their leading positions in world markets". Henderson was also chairman of the Zeneca Group from 1993 until 1995.
Henderson was awarded an honorary
doctorate in law in 1993 by the University of Bath
.
a position he held until he retired at the April 2001 AGM
. He was also chairman of Dalgety plc
from 1995 to 1997, First 'Crown Estate
' Commissioner and Chairman from 1995 to 2002 and has also held a number of non-executive director
ships, including at Barclays' Bank
(1990 to 1995), Rio Tinto Zinc
(1990 to 1996), Schlumberger
(1995 to 2001), Market & Opinion Research International Ltd (MORI) (2000 to 2002) and QinetiQ
(2003 to 2005).
In an interview in 2002 Henderson said that nowadays, in a public company, 70 is the end of the road. "Everybody should have his 15 minutes of fame," he says, "but I think this is a time to call it quits." He also said
Henderson was appointed a non-executive director of AZ Electronic Materials
by The Carlyle Group
following its acquisition of the company in 2004.
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
from 1987 to 1995.
Early life
Henderson was born on 11 October 1932, in ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, where his father was a tea planter. The family returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Henderson went to school in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and graduated from the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
in 1955 in Arts and Law with an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and an LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
National Service
Henderson trained as a solicitorSolicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
but never practised at a Law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
. He says that it was his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
that finally convinced him to use his legal training, by showing him a side of the law which he could never aspire to in civvy street. He was a captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in the directorate of army legal services
Army Legal Services Branch
The Army Legal Services Branch is a branch of the Adjutant-General's Corps in the British Army. Before 1992, the branch existed as the independent Army Legal Corps ....
and for 18 months acted as a prosecuting attorney
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
handling everything from fraud, assault and attempted murder to what he has described, with great delicacy, as "various unnatural offences". After that kind of drama he said there was no way he could face the tedium of a provincial solicitor's office where wills and small debt summonses would be the highlights of life.
Imperial Chemical Industries
Henderson joined the secretary's department at ICI head office in 1957 and was paid £900 a year. He said "The honest truth is I just wanted a job that paid the rent" adding that "I found the change from having a huge amount of personal initiative and personal responsibility as a prosecuting officer to being a 'scrubber' in the secretary's department not very stimulating - I made one or two attempts to leave but never did." He went on to hold various ICI legal posts including at Paints and after taking on various commercial roles went on to become Chairman of the Paints division in 1977, a position he held until 1980 when he joined the main ICI board.Henderson joined the main ICI board in 1980 and was appointed deputy chairman in 1986, succeeding Sir John Harvey-Jones
John Harvey-Jones
Sir John Harvey-Jones MBE was an English businessman. He was the chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries from 1982 to 1987...
as chairman a year later. He was instrumental in implementing a major streamlining of ICI to help it ride out the recession and face up to the tough competition of the 1990s, including a severe belt tightening and decentralised organisation with a lot of authority delegated to the chief executives who ran the individual businesses.
In recognition of his service to not only his business but his country, Henderson was created a Knight Bachelor in 1989.
On 15 May 1991, Hanson
Hanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
disclosed that it had purchased about 20 million, or 2.8 percent, of ICI's shares, leading to speculation of a possible takeover of what was at the time the UK's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
third-largest company. A management team headed by Henderson and Frank Whitely, its deputy chairman, led the takeover-defense plan against Lord Hanson
James Hanson, Baron Hanson
James Edward, Baron Hanson was an English Conservative industrialist who built his businesses through the process of leveraged buyouts through Hanson plc.-Career:...
, the chairman of Hanson, and his partner, Sir Gordon White (later Lord White of Hull
Gordon White, Baron White of Hull
Gordon Lindsay White, Baron White of Hull, KBE died in Los Angeles aged 72. He left most of his £70m fortune to his son Lucas...
), enlisting the help of S. G. Warburg & Co, the British investment bank
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
, and Goldman, Sachs & Company
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, the American investment bank. Lord Hanson was forced to back down from the takeover.
Henderson was also in charge when ICI split in two in June 1993 to create Zeneca
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc is a global pharmaceutical and biologics company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's seventh-largest pharmaceutical company measured by revenues and has operations in over 100 countries...
. He said "the demerger will produce two powerful, focused new companies able to concentrate even more on strengthening their leading positions in world markets". Henderson was also chairman of the Zeneca Group from 1993 until 1995.
Henderson was awarded an honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
doctorate in law in 1993 by the University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
.
Life after ICI
In March 1995 Henderson was appointed chairman of Rank OrganisationRank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
a position he held until he retired at the April 2001 AGM
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
. He was also chairman of Dalgety plc
Dalgety plc
Dalgety plc was a major British conglomerate. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
from 1995 to 1997, First 'Crown Estate
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
' Commissioner and Chairman from 1995 to 2002 and has also held a number of non-executive director
Non-executive director
A non-executive director or outside director is a member of the board of directors of a company who does not form part of the executive management team. He or she is not an employee of the company or affiliated with it in any other way...
ships, including at Barclays' Bank
Barclays plc
Barclays PLC is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. As of 2010 it was the world's 10th-largest banking and financial services group and 21st-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
(1990 to 1995), Rio Tinto Zinc
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
(1990 to 1996), Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
(1995 to 2001), Market & Opinion Research International Ltd (MORI) (2000 to 2002) and QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
(2003 to 2005).
In an interview in 2002 Henderson said that nowadays, in a public company, 70 is the end of the road. "Everybody should have his 15 minutes of fame," he says, "but I think this is a time to call it quits." He also said
Henderson was appointed a non-executive director of AZ Electronic Materials
AZ Electronic Materials
AZ Electronic Materials plc is a British specialty chemicals company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.-History:The Company was established in the 1950s as a division of Hoechst . The name of the company is derived from the organic compound diazo...
by The Carlyle Group
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is an American-based global asset management firm, specializing in private equity, based in Washington, D.C. The Carlyle Group operates in four business areas: corporate private equity, real assets, market strategies and fund-of-funds, through its AlpInvest subsidiary...
following its acquisition of the company in 2004.
External links
- Sir Denys address on the implications of changes to I.C.I. - at The Empire ClubEmpire Club of CanadaThe Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for over 3,500 speakers.Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and international leaders and other change-agents to address the topical...
- Official site - ICI Paints
- Slough History Online - ICI Paints, 1988