Sir Adrian Cadbury dies

Sir Adrian Cadbury, the architect of the rules that govern Britain’s boardrooms, has died aged 86.

The former chairman of chocolate maker Cadbury became a central figure in the world of corporate governance following the publication of the Cadbury Report, a key recommendation of which was to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive.

Following his retirement from the family business in 1990 at the age of 60, and at the behest of the Financial Reporting Council, Sir Adrian led an inquiry into how companies are run.

The committee’s findings were based on his belief that businesses performed best when built on trust and teamwork. The Cadbury Report subsequently became the gold standard for corporate structure across the world.

^{The Cadbury Report}

Sir Adrian was born in Birmingham on April 15, 1929. He rowed for Great Britain in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics before joining the family company, holding the role of chairman from 1974 to 1989. He was also a director at the Bank of England between 1970 and 1994.

Sir Adrian passed away on Friday in Birmingham, according to Aston University, where he was chancellor from 1979 to 2004.