Ian MacGregor
Encyclopedia
Sir Ian Kinloch MacGregor, KBE
(September 21, 1912 - April 13, 1998) was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at British Steel
and his conduct during the 1984-1985 miner's strike while managing the National Coal Board
.
, Scotland, his parents were Daniel MacGregor, an accountant
at the British Aluminium
plant, and his wife Grace Alexanderina, née Fraser Maclean, a schoolteacher. MacGregor's parents were members of the Calvinist
United Free Church and he received a devoutly Christian
upbringing. During the UK General Strike of 1926
, his elder brothers drove trams in Glasgow
to help break the strike. He attended George Watson's College
, Edinburgh
and Hillhead High School
, Glasgow
. At the University of Glasgow
, MacGregor studied metallurgy
and engineering
with some distinction, receiving a first-class degree. He then earned a diploma with distinction at the Royal College of Science and Technology
.
MacGregor started work as a metallurgist in 1935, alongside his father in the Kinlochleven aluminium plant but he was soon recruited as a junior manager at William Beardmore and Company
to work on vehicle armour
. There, he faced an early confrontation with trade union
leader David Kirkwood
in a strike involving crane-drivers. MacGregor's handling of the matter, involving driving cranes himself for two weeks, brought him to the attention of chairman Sir James Lithgow
, who marked him out for rapid promotion.
At the start of World War II
in 1939, MacGregor went to work for the Ministry of Supply
on the development of tank
s. Minister of Aircraft Production
Lord Beaverbrook
was the next to spot his talent and commandeered him to travel to Canada and the U.S. on procurement
missions for aviation amour. He was then seconded to the British military mission in the U.S. where he started to become familiar with U.S. industry, including work on the development of the Sherman tank.
He was soon to be disabused of the purported classlessness of U.S. society when a proposed takeover
of a Connecticut
firm fomented strike action
. MacGregor was reputedly threatened by the Mafia
and had his car overturned by pickets while he was inside. His takeover went ahead.
He became chief executive of American Metal Climax in 1966, diversifying
the company into mining
. He developed a reputation for shrewd, no-nonsense negotiation in various strands of American business, and an uncompromising attitude towards trade union
s accompanied by something of an appetite for confrontation. His method was to "always get your ducks lined up," and he often referred to his "Department of Economic Warfare". During the British miners' strike he nostalgically observed:
In later life he explained:
He went on to become a director of Lazard
and chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce
.
prime minister
James Callaghan
in 1977 as a non-executive director
of the ailing nationalised car manufacturer British Leyland. The intention was that he would act as deputy to chairman Sir Michael Edwardes but MacGregor was not content to operate in a purely strategic role and always maintained that it was he, and not Edwardes, who had taken the pivotal step of dismissing Derek Robinson ("Red Robbo"). Other accounts differ.
government of Margaret Thatcher
came to power and embarked, at first tentatively, on the radical programme of industrial restructuring that would come to be known as Thatcherism
. Secretary of State for Industry Sir Keith Joseph
recognised MacGregor as an instinctive supporter and potential implementer of the programme. Joseph appointed MacGregor chairman of the nationalised British Steel
Corporation in 1980, the British government paying Lazard's a £1.8 million settlement. Such a use of government funds, coupled with MacGregor's lack of reputation in Britain led to an outcry in the House of Commons
.
His tenure at British Steel was controversial. On his appointment, British Steel employed 166,000 staff and produced 14 million ton
s of steel
annually at a loss of £1.8 billion. MacGregor was remorseless in his programme of plant closures and redundancies
. Most of the redundancies were voluntary
but were made against a background of mounting unemployment in the UK and damaged many traditional steel-working communities. By 1983, there were only 71,000 staff with losses stemmed to £256M. The company was now moving towards profitability and would be in the vanguard of the Thatcher government's programme of privatisation.
(NCB), approved in person by Thatcher. The appointment was greeted with considerable disdain by the National Union of Mineworkers, in particular its president Arthur Scargill
. Scargill was concerned at MacGregor's uncompromising business methods, branding MacGregor "the American butcher of British industry." MacGregor replied that he was "a plastic surgeon" whose job was to "try to rebuild damaged features." He provoked Yorkshire
miners by telling them that they were less productive
than women miners in the U.S.
MacGregor's approach to turning the NCB into a profitable concern was similar to the line he had taken at British Steel: cut jobs and close unprofitable pits. This led to the protracted and increasingly bitter 1984-1985 miner's strike. Despite many meetings between the two opposing sides no agreement was ever reached, and the UK coal industry continued its decline when the strike finished. Only 15 deep mines remained at the time of privatisation in 1994, although some briefly reopened, against the 170 collieries operational in 1984. , there are eight deep mines operating in the UK.
and to the board of directors
of British Gas plc
but without success. He enjoyed a variety of company chairmanships including Goldcrest Films
but was disappointed to be forcibly retired from two U.S. companies when he reached 78. He maintained his British business interests, observing "Being British is a faith. I will never lose it."
in 1942; she was from Wales. They had a son and a daughter. MacGregor split his time between his homes in New York, Bermuda
and Loch Fyne
, Scotland. MacGregor was chairman of Religion in American Life and, in the UK, the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training. He was an active campaigner against ageism
in employment.
Outside the boardroom, some found him "a benign and rather avuncular man, whose Scottish burr was distinctly audible beneath the overlay of his American accent." Others saw him as "affable and stimulating: with his tongue partly in his cheek" and as "emotional and often unpredictable. He thought of himself as a creator; he returned to the UK out of a sense of patriotism as much Scots as British; and the large fees he earned were less for consumption - certainly not of any conspicuous kind - as to sustain his ceaseless world travels." Scottish miners' leader Mick McGahey
described him as "viciously anti-trade union and anti-working class", claiming that he had worked "to destroy trade unionism not only in mining, but in Britain." He certainly achieved the objectives of the Thatcher government, but Thatcher herself felt that he had handled the public relations
aspect of the miners' dispute poorly, failing to empathise with the British public's widespread sympathy for the miners and their communities, and the pair were on cool terms after his departure from the NCB. Although he left public affairs after his retirement, his opinions on the Government's handling of the dispute, expressed in his autobiography
, were not well received by Thatcher.
Mr. MacGregor was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1979.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(September 21, 1912 - April 13, 1998) was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
and his conduct during the 1984-1985 miner's strike while managing the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
.
Early life
Born in KinlochlevenKinlochleven
Kinlochleven is a village in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven, a sea loch cutting into the western Scottish Highlands. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe...
, Scotland, his parents were Daniel MacGregor, an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
at the British Aluminium
British Aluminium
The aluminium producer British Aluminium Ltd was originally formed as the British Aluminium Company Ltd on 7 May 1894 and was subsequently known as British Alcan Aluminium Plc...
plant, and his wife Grace Alexanderina, née Fraser Maclean, a schoolteacher. MacGregor's parents were members of the Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
United Free Church and he received a devoutly Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
upbringing. During the UK General Strike of 1926
UK General Strike of 1926
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
, his elder brothers drove trams in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to help break the strike. He attended George Watson's College
George Watson's College
George Watson's College, known informally as Watson's, is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871 and was merged with its sister school...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Hillhead High School
Hillhead High School
Hillhead High School is a day school located in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow.Until 1976 it was a selective school...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. At the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, MacGregor studied metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
with some distinction, receiving a first-class degree. He then earned a diploma with distinction at the Royal College of Science and Technology
Royal College of Science and Technology
The Royal College of Science and Technology, situated at 138 George Street in Glasgow, Scotland was the principal predecessor institution of the University of Strathclyde, and now serves as one of the main educational buildings of the campus.-History:...
.
MacGregor started work as a metallurgist in 1935, alongside his father in the Kinlochleven aluminium plant but he was soon recruited as a junior manager at William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
to work on vehicle armour
Vehicle armour
Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles, or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include tanks, aircraft, and ships....
. There, he faced an early confrontation with trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader David Kirkwood
David Kirkwood
David Kirkwood, 1st Baron Kirkwood, PC was a socialist from the East End of Glasgow, Scotland, viewed as a leading figure of the Red Clydeside era.Kirkwood was educated at Parkhead Public School and was trained as an engineer....
in a strike involving crane-drivers. MacGregor's handling of the matter, involving driving cranes himself for two weeks, brought him to the attention of chairman Sir James Lithgow
Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet
Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet CB GBE MC TD was a Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British shipbuilding and steelmaking industries in the 1930s in addition to playing an important role in formulating public policy and supervising wartime production.-Early...
, who marked him out for rapid promotion.
At the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, MacGregor went to work for the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
on the development of tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s. Minister of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
Lord Beaverbrook
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
was the next to spot his talent and commandeered him to travel to Canada and the U.S. on procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
missions for aviation amour. He was then seconded to the British military mission in the U.S. where he started to become familiar with U.S. industry, including work on the development of the Sherman tank.
Post-war
At the end of the war in 1945, MacGregor remained in the U.S., attracted to its culture and disdainful of the newly elected British Labour government with its programme of nationalisation. In later life he observed:He was soon to be disabused of the purported classlessness of U.S. society when a proposed takeover
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
of a Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
firm fomented strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. MacGregor was reputedly threatened by the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and had his car overturned by pickets while he was inside. His takeover went ahead.
He became chief executive of American Metal Climax in 1966, diversifying
Diversification (marketing strategy)
Diversification is a form of corporate strategy for a company. It seeks to increase profitability through greater sales volume obtained from new products and new markets. Diversification can occur either at the business unit level or at the corporate level. At the business unit level, it is most...
the company into mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. He developed a reputation for shrewd, no-nonsense negotiation in various strands of American business, and an uncompromising attitude towards trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s accompanied by something of an appetite for confrontation. His method was to "always get your ducks lined up," and he often referred to his "Department of Economic Warfare". During the British miners' strike he nostalgically observed:
In later life he explained:
He went on to become a director of Lazard
Lazard
Lazard Ltd is the parent company of Lazard Group LLC, a global, independent investment bank with approximately 2,300 employees in 42 cities across 27 countries throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, Central and South America...
and chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce
International Chamber of Commerce
The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....
.
British Leyland
He was brought back to British industry by Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
in 1977 as a 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...
of the ailing nationalised car manufacturer British Leyland. The intention was that he would act as deputy to chairman Sir Michael Edwardes but MacGregor was not content to operate in a purely strategic role and always maintained that it was he, and not Edwardes, who had taken the pivotal step of dismissing Derek Robinson ("Red Robbo"). Other accounts differ.
British Steel
In 1979, the ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
came to power and embarked, at first tentatively, on the radical programme of industrial restructuring that would come to be known as Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
. Secretary of State for Industry Sir Keith Joseph
Keith Joseph
Keith St John Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH, PC , was a British barrister and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under three Prime Ministers , and is widely regarded to have been the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as...
recognised MacGregor as an instinctive supporter and potential implementer of the programme. Joseph appointed MacGregor chairman of the nationalised British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
Corporation in 1980, the British government paying Lazard's a £1.8 million settlement. Such a use of government funds, coupled with MacGregor's lack of reputation in Britain led to an outcry in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
His tenure at British Steel was controversial. On his appointment, British Steel employed 166,000 staff and produced 14 million ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
annually at a loss of £1.8 billion. MacGregor was remorseless in his programme of plant closures and redundancies
Layoff
Layoff , also called redundancy in the UK, is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs...
. Most of the redundancies were voluntary
Voluntary redundancy
Voluntary redundancy is a financial incentive offered by an organisation to its employees with the purpose of attracting volunteers to leave the organisation, due to downsizing or restructuring situations. The purpose is to circumvent union employee regulation laws.-Reasons:A Voluntary Redundancy...
but were made against a background of mounting unemployment in the UK and damaged many traditional steel-working communities. By 1983, there were only 71,000 staff with losses stemmed to £256M. The company was now moving towards profitability and would be in the vanguard of the Thatcher government's programme of privatisation.
National Coal Board
His next role in 1983 was head of the National Coal BoardNational Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
(NCB), approved in person by Thatcher. The appointment was greeted with considerable disdain by the National Union of Mineworkers, in particular its president Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill is a British politician who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1982 to 2002, leading the union through the 1984–85 miners' strike, a key event in British labour and political history...
. Scargill was concerned at MacGregor's uncompromising business methods, branding MacGregor "the American butcher of British industry." MacGregor replied that he was "a plastic surgeon" whose job was to "try to rebuild damaged features." He provoked Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
miners by telling them that they were less productive
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
than women miners in the U.S.
MacGregor's approach to turning the NCB into a profitable concern was similar to the line he had taken at British Steel: cut jobs and close unprofitable pits. This led to the protracted and increasingly bitter 1984-1985 miner's strike. Despite many meetings between the two opposing sides no agreement was ever reached, and the UK coal industry continued its decline when the strike finished. Only 15 deep mines remained at the time of privatisation in 1994, although some briefly reopened, against the 170 collieries operational in 1984. , there are eight deep mines operating in the UK.
Later life
MacGregor retired from the NCB in 1986, rejoining Lazard's as a non-executive director. In the UK, there were campaigns to appoint him as head of the National Health ServiceNational Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
and to the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of British Gas plc
British Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
but without success. He enjoyed a variety of company chairmanships including Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films is a British film production company founded by Jake Eberts in January 1977. It enjoyed great success in the 1980s with films such as Local Hero , The Killing Fields and Hope and Glory mostly produced by David Puttnam on modest budgets. The company also benefited from the new...
but was disappointed to be forcibly retired from two U.S. companies when he reached 78. He maintained his British business interests, observing "Being British is a faith. I will never lose it."
Personality and private life
He married Sybil Spencer (died 1996) in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1942; she was from Wales. They had a son and a daughter. MacGregor split his time between his homes in New York, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
, Scotland. MacGregor was chairman of Religion in American Life and, in the UK, the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training. He was an active campaigner against ageism
Ageism
Ageism, also called age discrimination is stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice, discrimination, and subordination...
in employment.
Outside the boardroom, some found him "a benign and rather avuncular man, whose Scottish burr was distinctly audible beneath the overlay of his American accent." Others saw him as "affable and stimulating: with his tongue partly in his cheek" and as "emotional and often unpredictable. He thought of himself as a creator; he returned to the UK out of a sense of patriotism as much Scots as British; and the large fees he earned were less for consumption - certainly not of any conspicuous kind - as to sustain his ceaseless world travels." Scottish miners' leader Mick McGahey
Mick McGahey
Michael "Mick" McGahey was a Scottish miners' leader and life-long Communist, with a distinctive gravelly voice. He described himself as "a product of my class and my movement".-Early life:...
described him as "viciously anti-trade union and anti-working class", claiming that he had worked "to destroy trade unionism not only in mining, but in Britain." He certainly achieved the objectives of the Thatcher government, but Thatcher herself felt that he had handled the public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
aspect of the miners' dispute poorly, failing to empathise with the British public's widespread sympathy for the miners and their communities, and the pair were on cool terms after his departure from the NCB. Although he left public affairs after his retirement, his opinions on the Government's handling of the dispute, expressed in his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, were not well received by Thatcher.
Mr. MacGregor was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1979.
Honours
- John Fritz MedalJohn Fritz MedalThe John Fritz Medal is since 1902 yearly awarded by the American Association of Engineering Societies for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for Fritz's 80th birthday, who lived between 1822 and 1913.- Recipients :...
, (1981); - KnighthoodOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (1986); - Chevalier of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, (1972).