Roy Brown (businessman)

Roy Drysdale Brown, FIMechE, FIET (4 December 1946 – 28 November 2024) was a British engineer and business executive, who was the chairman of the international engineering conglomerate GKN from 2004 until 2012.

Life and career

Brown attended the independent Tonbridge School. On a GEC scholarship he went to University College London, where he gained a BSc in Mechanical Engineering.^[1]

He worked for Unilever from 1974 to 2001, and later became chairman of the Scottish telecommunications company Thus plc.

Brown joined GKN as a non-executive director in 1996 and became the company's chairman in May 2004.^[2] He was replaced by Michael Turner in May 2012.^[3]

Brown married Carol Wallace in 1978 and they had two sons. He became a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1983, and a Fellow of the IEE (which became the Institution of Engineering & Technology) in 1990.

Brown died on 28 November 2024, at the age of 77.^[4]

References

1. Debrett's
2. "Brown lands chairman's seat at GKN". The Telegraph. 27 November 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
3. "GKN Says Michael Turner To Succeed Roy Brown As Chairman". RTTNews. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
4. "Roy Drysdale Brown". The Telegraph. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.

Business positions
Preceded by David Lees	Chairman of GKN 2004 – 2012	Succeeded by Mike Turner