Sir Rod Aldridge OBE
Founder and former CEO, Capita; Founder, The Aldridge Foundation
Sir Rod’s career started in the public sector where he qualified as a Chartered Public Accountant working for 4 local authorities and ultimately for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
His involvement with the public sector led to the formation of the Capita Group PLC which became known for leading the development of the “white collar” outsourcing market in the UK.
Over a period of 22 years, Sir Rod led the Capita Group from a start-up in 1984, through a public floatation on AIM in 1989 with a market of £8m to ultimately becoming a FTSE 100 company valued at c £8bn, which employed 60,000 people.
As part of this journey, he was appointed by the CBI to be the inaugural chairman of its Public Services Strategy Board. Formed of the CEOs of all the major companies in the outsourcing industry representing the voice of the Industry with Government.
Following his retirement from Capita in 2006, Sir Rod was appointed by Rt.Hon.Gordon Brown, when Prime Minister to be the Founder Chair of Vinspired, the youth volunteering charity.
Also, in 2006 he founded the Aldridge Foundation a charity focussed on creating positive, sustainable, social and economic impact, putting enterprise skills and an entrepreneurial mindset at the heart of young people’s education.
It operates through a family of 10 non-selective community academies involving the education of 8,000 students in the north west, London and the south east.
Today, Sir Rod is the Chairman of The Lowry, the award-winning performing and visual arts venue in Salford which has been the cornerstone of the £1.4 billion regeneration of Salford Quays.
He was until recently, President of Sussex Cricket. Cricket is a life time passion of his, believing in the power of the game to transform lives.
Most recently he has taken a deep interest in mental health and wellbeing and through his Family Office, Sir Rod is closely involved with, developing, Frog, a technology driven platform, now used by 30 organisations.
Sir Rod is a Patron of the Prince’s Trust, has an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration from Manchester Metropolitan University and was recently appointed a Visiting Professor for Aston University.
He was awarded an OBE in the 1994, given the Freedom of the City of London in 1996 and received a Knighthood for services to young people in 2012.
His autobiography ‘You’re Better Than They Think You Are’ was published in 2018.