Rod Aldridge
Encyclopedia
Rod Aldridge OBE  is the Founder and former Executive Chairman of Capita, a British company specialising in business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...

, and currently Chairman of The Aldridge Foundation. The Foundation encourages young people to create their own social change, using an entrepreneurial mindset, and is the sponsor of three Academies in Darwen
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...

, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 and Portslade.

Present work

As well as leading The Aldridge Foundation, he is also Chair of v, the charity launched in May 2006 which aims to inspire and engage over 1 million new youth volunteers. In January 2007 he was appointed Chairman of The Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...

, a theatre and arts venue in Salford. He is also a member of the Prince's Charities Council at the invitation of the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

, and a member of the NESTA
NESTA
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts is an independent endowment in the United Kingdom established by an Act of Parliament in 1998....

 Lab Board.

In 2009, he took up a role as Chair of the Department of Health (United Kingdom)
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...

 'Dance Champions Group', aiming to encourage 100,000 more adults to take up dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 as a form of physical activity, with members such as Arlene Phillips
Arlene Phillips
Arlene Phillips OBE is an English choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, TV presenter, TV judge and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment...

 and Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon is an English fashion model, television personality and presenter. She was the host of the reality television show Britain's Next Top Model from 2006 until 2009...

.

He is a regular keynote speaker at events on public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...

, the Academy (English school) system and social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is the work of social entrepreneurs. A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change . While a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a...

.

Background

Aldridge founded and led the Capita Group from its formation in 1984 until 2006. During his time as chair the group expanded to a FTSE 100 company employing 27,000 as well as profits increasing each year to almost £200 million in 2006. In 1987 he led the management buyout (MBO) of the group from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy is a professional institute for accountants working in the public services.CIPFA has 14,000 members who work throughout the public services, in national audit agencies, in major accountancy firms, and in other bodies where public money...

 (CIPFA) and the flotation of Capita on the unlisted securities market (USM) in 1989 valued at £8 million.

In 2006 Aldridge resigned as chairman of Capita after it was revealed that he had lent the Labour Party
Labour 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...

 £1 million. The loan, which was secret at the time it was made, was controversial, in part, because Capita is a major public sector supplier.

Prior to Capita, Aldridge worked in local government for 10 years with East Sussex County Council, Brighton Borough Council, Crawley District Group and West Sussex County Council, joining CIPFA in 1974 ultimately becoming its Technical Director.

Aldridge is a patron and former trustee of The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...

 and was the Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry
Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry is a British not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal charter which promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies.-Role:The CBI works...

’s (CBI) public services strategy board at its inception in 2003 through to July 2006. He is a former Non Executive Director on the Ministerial Advisory Board of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services, an Executive Agency of the FCO.

Recognition

He was awarded an OBE in 1994 New Years Honours List for services to the computer industry and was given the freedom of the City of London in 1996. He is on the Court of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.

Aldridge was elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...

in 2006.

External links

  • http://www.aldridgefoundation.com
  • http://www.capita.co.uk/
  • http://www.daca.uk.com/
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