MY Ph.D. notes show that I met Sir Adrian Cadbury at the RSE in London on 5 January 2006. That he would travel into London to meet a student to help her research into business ethics tells you all that you really need to know about a truly great man, who was defined by a lifetime interest in how businesses ought to behave.
When we met, his wife had just had her first dose of chemotherapy, but had encouraged him to stick to his appointments, so that they would have something to talk about to take her mind off things. I learned a lot from just that one meeting; and so I was thrilled to see Donovan’s book, which does a great job of charting the life and contribution of this towering pillar of British industry, and the trailblazing part that he played in business ethics and governance.
Cadbury has always been a household name, but Adrian Cadbury made it a household name for corporate governance, too, with the publication in 1992 of the world-famous Cadbury report. Sir Adrian was the ideal chair for this initiative, because he had been pioneering governance reform for many years beforehand.
As Donovan explains, on becoming chairman of Cadbury in 1974, he immediately split the job in two, retaining the position of chairman and creating the new post of CEO — a title so new that it had first been referred to in The Oxford English Dictionary only two years before. By 1984, he was chairing the newly created body Pro-Ned, set up by the Bank of England to promote the concept of non-executive directors on boards. And, in the late 1980s, he wrote his own governance code, a pamphlet that was circulated within Cadbury, The Character of the Company, in which he set out the company’s values.
This was to become the inspiration for the kind of corporate code that the Cadbury report made standard practice in business ethics, as well as the practice of “comply or explain.”
courtesy the cadbury family archivesJust before retirement, Sir Adrian with Lady Cadbury on a business trip to Lagos in 1988. From the book
The particular legacy of the Cadbury report, much of which was adopted worldwide, was the normalising of the splitting of the chair and CEO position, and of the importance of the part played by non-executives.
The obituaries at the time recognised his legacy in setting the standard for corporate governance in the UK; so anyone who wants to understand the history of governance in the UK should read this book. And, in reading it, I find it hugely heartening to be reminded that the man who was behind securing its foundation was motivated by such a strong Christian ethic.
Our own conversation included some memorable moments. Of course, we talked about what it was like to lose the Boat Race, and to row at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. He also rather earnestly explained to me at one point that, while he was in full sympathy with the Society of Friends, he was himself only an associate Quaker, because he did not believe in pacifism.
But the phrase that I most recall was his wonderful summary of the Church of England’s ethical-investment strategy as “Banning Baccy, Booze, Bombs, and Baccarat”. It is thanks to him that the Church Commissioners have added Bad Governance to this list, and would now vote against the combining of the positions of chair and CEO in any company in which they invest.
Dr Eve Poole writes on theology, economics, and leadership.
Beyond Chocolate: Adrian Cadbury, life, loss and leadership
Patrick Donovan
Unicorn £25
(978-1-916846-26-5)
Church Times Bookshop £22.50