Terence Norman Beckett
Sir Terence Norman Beckett (1923-2013), KBE, was a British businessman, who was chairman of Ford and later became director-general of the Confederation of British Industry.
1923 December 13th. Born in Walsall.
Educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School
Studied mechanical engineering at Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical college
On 14 July 1945, Beckett was commissioned in the British Army as a second lieutenant of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and given the service number 352178. He saw active service in India and Malaya.
He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1949 and granted the honorary rank of captain.
1950 Joined Ford
He took a BSc in economics at the London School of Economics
1950 Married to Sylvia Asprey (died 2012; one daughter)
1954 Appointed styling manager at Briggs, Ford's body-making subsidiary at Dagenham
c1956 Promoted to head of Ford's product-planning staff and he was probably the biggest single influence on the introduction in 1962 of the Cortina, the single most financially successful mass-produced car in post-war British motoring history
1974-80 Director and chief executive of Ford
1976-80 Chairman
1980-87 Director general, Confederation of British Industry
2013 May 2nd. Died.