Patrick Sheehy
Patrick Sheehy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 September 1930 |
| Died | 23 July 2019 |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Sir Patrick Sheehy (2 September 1930 – 23 July 2019)[1] was a British businessman who was chairman of British American Tobacco.[2]
Life and career
[edit]Sheehy was born in Rangoon, Burma, the son of John Sheehy, an Irish civil servant, and a mother of Scottish descent.[1] He attended Saint Ignatius' College in Sydney, Australia, followed by Ampleforth College in Yorkshire.
Sheehy joined British American Tobacco as a sales manager in 1950.[1] He was appointed deputy chairman of British American Tobacco in 1976.[1]
Sheehy was appointed chairman of British American Tobacco in 1982.[1] As global tobacco sales were growing slowly, Sheehy diversified the business into insurance and financial services, acquiring Eagle Star in 1984, and Allied Dunbar in 1985.[1] Farmers Insurance of the United States was acquired in 1988, to render British American Tobacco as the largest UK-based insurance business.[1] The retail and consumer businesses were sold off following a failed hostile takeover of British American Tobacco in 1989.[1]
He was knighted in the 1991 New Year Honours.
In 1992 he was appointed chairman of the Inquiry into Police Responsibilities and Rewards (known as the Sheehy Inquiry), charged with reviewing police services in the United Kingdom.[3]
Sheehy retired from British American Tobacco in 1995.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sir Patrick Sheehy, businessman who consolidated the fortunes of British-American Tobacco and fought off a hostile takeover bid – obituary". The Telegraph. 24 July 2019.
- ^ "Debrett's People of Today". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ Kirby, Terry (1 July 1993). "The Sheehy Inquiry: Police 'jobs for life' culture swept away by inquiry: Rank and file representative says authors of Sheehy report understand little or nothing about policing". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
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- 1930 births
- 2019 deaths
- British business executives
- British American Tobacco people
- Businesspeople awarded knighthoods
- Knights Bachelor
- Businesspeople from Yangon
- People educated at Ampleforth College
- British people of Irish descent
- British people of Scottish descent
- British Roman Catholics
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- British business biography, 1930s birth stubs