Adrian Cadbury

Who is Adrian Cadbury?

Sir George Adrian Hayhurst Cadbury is a former British Olympic rower and Chairman of Cadbury and Cadbury Schweppes for 24 years. He has been a pioneer in raising the awareness and stimulating the debate on corporate governance and produced the Cadbury Report, a code of best practice which served as a basis for reform of corporate governance around the world.

Cadbury was born 15 April 1929, a member of the Cadbury family who are known for their Quaker philosophy and the chocolate conglomerate which they founded. He was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he rowed in the losing Cambridge boat in the 1952 Boat Race. He also rowed in the Great Britain coxless four in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He joined the Cadbury business in 1958 and became Chairman of Cadbury Ltd in 1965. He retired as Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes in 1989.

He was a Director of the Bank of England from 1970–1994 and of IBM from 1975-1994. He was Chairman of the UK Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance which published its Report and Code of Best Practice in December 1992. He was member of the OECD Business Sector Advisory Group on Corporate Governance.