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David McMurtry

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Sir David McMurtry
CBE FRS FREng RDI FIMechE
McMurtry in 2012
Born
David Roberts McMurtry

(1940-03-05)5 March 1940
Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland
Died9 December 2024(2024-12-09) (aged 84)
Gloucestershire, England
EducationMountjoy School
Years active1958–2024
TitleChairman and co-founder, Renishaw plc
Spouse
Teresa Adams
​
(m. 1966)​
Children3

Sir David Roberts McMurtry (5 March 1940 – 9 December 2024) was an Irish-British billionaire businessman, who was the co-founder and executive chairman of Renishaw plc, the UK's largest supplier of metrology equipment. As of December 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$1.3 billion.[1]

Early life and education

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David Roberts McMurtry was born the second child of Frederick and Margaret McMurtry, on 5 March 1940, in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland.[2] He was brought up in Dublin and educated at Mountjoy School (now the Mount Temple Comprehensive School) in Dublin.[3] McMurtry moved to the UK at the age of 18, in 1958.[4]

Career

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McMurtry joined Bristol Aeroplane Company as an apprentice in 1958.[5] In 1966, following an acquisition, he found himself employed by Rolls-Royce Holdings where he became Deputy Chief Designer and Assistant Chief of Engine Design at Filton.[5] In 1973, while working on Concorde's engines, he designed his first trigger probe.[5] He worked on the Turbo-Union RB199 engine.[6]

In 1973, he joined his former colleague John Deer to set up Renishaw plc.[5][1] The company floated on the Unlisted Securities Market in 1983, and gained a full listing the following year.[7] In 1987, McMurtry acquired the patents for his trigger probes from Rolls-Royce Holdings and began to exploit the patents himself.[5] In 1989, he became a Royal Designer for Industry.[8]

In 2018, McMurtry stepped down as chief executive of Renishaw and was replaced by marketing and sales director William Lee.[9]

On 2 March 2021, McMurtry, along with John Deer, indicated that they wished to dispose of their entire holdings in Renishaw, comprising some 53% of the shares, as 'we recognise that neither of us is getting any younger'. The Renishaw board then announced that it was launching a formal sale process for the entire company.[10] This process was terminated on 7 July 2021, after the board concluded that none of the proposals met their objectives.[11]

In June 2024, McMurtry stepped down as executive chairman of Renishaw and remained on the board as a non-executive director.[12]

According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2024, with a net worth of £1.2 billion, McMurtry was the 135th richest person in the UK. He was the 157th richest on the list the year prior.[13]

Personal life and death

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McMurtry married Teresa Adams in 1966, who survives him, and had three children.[14][15][2] He lived in Wotton-under-Edge, England.[1]

In 2001, McMurtry started working on Swinhay House. After it was completed, the "£30m futuristic eco-house" appeared in an episode of the BBC television series Sherlock.[16]

McMurtry died in Gloucestershire on 9 December 2024, at the age of 84.[17][18][2]

Awards and honours

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McMurtry received the Queen's Award for Enterprise (now The King's Awards for Enterprise) in 1979.[19] He was awarded the CBE in 1994[20] and was knighted in the 2001 New Year Honours.[21]

McMurtry was an honorary fellow of Cardiff University. He was also a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.[22] He was elected a fellow of the SME in 1988.[23] He was a recipient of the MacRobert Award.[4] McMurtry received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1998.[24] In 2001, McMurtry was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.[25] In 2008, the University of Bath awarded him an honorary doctorate.[26] In 2011, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.[27] He won the Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize in 2012.[28] In 2017, McMurtry received an honorary doctorate from the University of Huddersfield.[29] He was the recipient of the 2019 James Watt International Gold Medal.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Forbes profile: David McMurtry". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Sir David McMurtry, billionaire engineer-inventor who founded Renishaw and was named on 47 patents". The Telegraph. 14 December 2024. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Irish-born designer receives knighthood". Irish Times. 15 January 2001. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b Ferry, Jeff (1 March 1992). "UK: The Wotton World Beater - RENISHAW PLC'S DAVID MCMURTRY". Management Today. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Renishaw: Biography". Renishaw. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  6. ^ "End of an era for Renishaw". Business West. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Our History". Renishaw. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  8. ^ "New Year Honour for David McMurtry". Engineeringtalk. 9 March 2001. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Co-founder of Britain's Renishaw to step down as CEO". Reuters. 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Renishaw PLC - Commencement of formal sale process". ProActive Investors. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Renishaw PLC Announcements | Renishaw PLC: Update on Formal Sale Process & Current Trading". Investegate. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Gloucestershire billionaire Sir David McMurtry to step down as executive chair of Renishaw". Gloucestershire Live. 13 June 2024. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  13. ^ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2024". The Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  14. ^ Rust, Stuart (25 June 2015). "Slimbridge Parish WI have afternoon tea with Sir David McMurtry". Gazette Series. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  15. ^ Osborne, Alistair (6 November 2013). "David McMurtry - one of Britain's master craftsmen". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  16. ^ "David McMurtry". Irish Independent. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  17. ^ Ward, Chris (10 December 2024). "The manufacturing industry has lost a great innovator and many at Renishaw have lost a father figure and a friend". Insider Media. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  18. ^ Reynolds, John (15 December 2024). "By any measure – not just in business and inventing – David McMurtry was a remarkable person". The Currency. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  19. ^ "David McMurtry - a career in pictures". The Telegraph. 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  20. ^ "No. 53863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 1994. p. 16701.
  21. ^ "No. 56070". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2000. p. 2.
  22. ^ "Measure of success". The Manufacturer. 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  23. ^ Hogan, Brian J.; Waurzyniak, Patrick (July 2008). "David McMurtry" (PDF). SME. Renishaw. p. 4. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  24. ^ "Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates". Heriot-Watt University. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  25. ^ "List of Fellows". Royal Academy of Engineering. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  26. ^ "Internal News". University of Bath. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Sir David Roberts McMurtry CBE FREng FRS". Royal Society. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  28. ^ "The Swan/Business and Innovation medal recipients". Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  29. ^ "Honorary Awards at the November 2017 Graduation Ceremonies". University of Huddersfield. September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  30. ^ "2019 James Watt International Gold Medal Winner". Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.

See also

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