William Michael Robson (1934-2025)
I was a lifelong colleague of Michael’s, and I’m very grateful to Catherine for inviting me to share some brief memories and reflections on his career in steel. Michael was a Titan of the British steel industry to which he was passionately devoted, to which he dedicated his career, and in which he rose to the highest level of responsibility.
In the 1950s Michael left the Navy to join the sales team of John Summers & Sons, a leading sheet steel producer in North Wales. Summers became part of the British Steel Corporation, formed when most of the steel industry was nationalised in 1967, and shortly afterwards Michael was invited to lead the commercial team of the Strip Mills division that oversaw the output of the Port Talbot, Llanwern and Shotton works – a significant share of the Corporation’s entire business.
BSC was created from 14 independent steel companies, with more than 100 operations throughout the UK and well over a quarter of a million employees. Over the next twenty years, immense and often painful efforts were made to streamline operations and restore the company to international competitiveness. It was a time of great turmoil and upheaval, during which Michael’s authoritative presence was a hugely reassuring element among the teams he led – as one of his former colleagues has said “however strong the headwinds, Michael was never flustered, always calm, always in control”.
Herculean efforts led to BSC returning to substantial profit in the 1980s and then to being privatised under Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1988 as British Steel Ltd., a respected and profitable private company. It was an astounding achievement and Michael’s contribution to it was recognised by his appointment in the early ’90s as Commercial Director of British Steel Ltd to direct the overall commercial fortunes of the Company from its Head Office in London. In 1996 he was appointed President of UK Steel, the steel industry’s trade association, in which he played a leading public role involving personal meetings with Ministers, MPs, the Bank of England and many industrial trade bodies here and in Europe, followed up with powerful letters to the press and eloquent public speeches, as he became one of the leading advocates of UK manufacturing in influencing the Government’s approach towards the industrial base of this country. One of his closest colleagues has said, “At a time when steel is once again in the news, it should never be forgotten how hard Michael fought with other industry leaders to promote manufacturing and retain the UK’s steel operations against the Government’s lack of any real industrial strategy”.
In recognition of his lifetime of industrial and public service, Michael was awarded a richly deserved OBE.
He retired in 1998 and I reflected at the time on how fortunate we were to have had someone of such vision, of so many talents and of such rich human qualities as Michael to lead our commercial teams for nearly a third of a century. The words of a former Chief Executive of the Company echo the sentiments that have been expressed by so many in recent weeks: “For me”, he wrote, “Michael was the quintessential Commercial Director. He had all the skills that a top commercial executive needs plus those ingredients which took him above and beyond to another level. He was an outstanding strategic thinker, he knew how to build, develop and motivate a team, he was a truly fine, loyal and supportive colleague and over many years Michael earned the genuine respect and admiration of every customer, competitor, colleague and all others he dealt with, in the UK and around the world.”
Speaking for myself, and I believe for all his colleagues, Michael stood for everything that was fine, decent and of integrity in the British steel industry. Professionally he was a real leader: motivational, disciplined and competitive. Personally he was courteous, kind and approachable, and he set standards that all could aspire to but few could achieve. He will be remembered with gratitude and affection for his authoritative presence and decisive leadership -for his intellect, sense of humour and unfailing courtesy, with an ability to connect with people at every level from the post room to the Board Room -for the motivational impact that a quiet word of praise or encouragement from Michael could bring-for his strong values and straight dealing in our often rough and-tumble industry- and all underpinned by the devoted family life that he and Catherine shared and the innumerable friendships in steel that they made together across the world.
In Chaucer’s , there is one tale whose opening lines could have been written with Michael in mind:
A Knight there was and that a worthy man
Who from the moment that he first began
To ride forth loved the code of Chivalry, Honour and Truth, Freedom and Courtesy.
Renowned he was and worthy, he was wise,
Prudence in him was more than mere disguise. He was mild in manner, and was so bred
That vileness he shunned, rudeness he never said. in all his life, respecting each man’s right,
He was a truly perfect noble Knight.
Michael was indeed a true Knight of steel, loved, respected and admired by us all. In gratitude for all that he did for a great industry and on behalf of all his former colleagues, I salute his memory.
Richard Barber (colleague)
William Michael Robson
Born 1 September 1934
Prep School: The Wells House, Malvern Wells, Worcestershire.
Sherborne School (Abbeylands) 1948-1952, Head of House, Upper 6th (Group III A: Mathematics & Science), 2nd XV rugby (1951), 1st XI cricket (1951, 1952), Boxing team (1952), Trebles (1951, 1952), PT Instructor with badge, member of Duffers, LS in CCF (Naval Section).
Died 11 February 2025