Sir Harvey-Jones passes away

Sir John Harvey-Jones, former ICI chairman and honorary vice president of the Institute of Marketing, died yesterday at the age of 83.

In the late 1990s, Harvey-Jones famously took on an advisory role for struggling businesses in his BBC show Troubleshooter.

Known as an advocate for design, Harvey-Jones notably advised Stoke-based group Churchill Tableware to quadruple its design spend. As a result its profits rose from £400 000 to £2m in one year.

The businessman was chairman of ICI from 1982 to 1987. He also became honorary vice president of the Institute of Marketing and chairman of The Economist from 1989 to 1994.

After his retirement, he continued in several posts including chairman of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, a member of the Advisory Council of the Prince’s Youth Business Trust and as president of the MS Trust.

Additionally, he published a number of books, including Making It Happen, Getting It Together, Managing to Survive and All Together Now.

According to reports, the businessman died peacefully in his sleep, and had been suffering from a long illness.