Ivan Stedeford

Sir Ivan Stedeford, GBE
Family photograph of Sir Ivan Stedeford
Born	28 January 1897
Died	9 February 1975

Sir Ivan Arthur Rice Stedeford, GBE (28 January 1897 – 9 February 1975) was a British industrialist and philanthropist.

Stedeford was chairman and managing director of Tube Investments (T.I.) and one of Britain's leading 20th-century industrialists.

Stedeford was the son of the Reverend Charles Stedeford, who served as President of the United Methodist Conference in 1928.

Stedeford began his education at Shebbear College in North Devon. The family frequently moved as Charles Stedeford's ministry took him to different parts of the country and Stedeford finished his education at the King Edward VI Aston in Birmingham.

Stedeford left school in 1913 to become an engineering apprentice at Wolseley Motors Ltd.

In 1917, he decided to play a more active role in the First World War and was commissioned in the Royal Naval Air Service, tasked as a balloon forward air observer, a somewhat static and highly dangerous assignment, even by the standards of other First World War military duties.

At the end of the war, he returned to Birmingham and went into partnership to form a motor dealership called Reeve and Stedeford. It had premises in Broad Street, which was then the main route to Edgbaston, where the wealthiest citizens had their homes. It specialised in limousines and sports cars, rapidly becoming successful.

In 1928, Stedeford was persuaded to join Tubes Ltd, the precursor of the small Midlands company Tube Investments Ltd, as sales director. His progress in T.I. was rapid. In three years he became joint managing director of Tubes Ltd., and two years later (1933) was elected to the T.I. board. He was elected Group managing director of T.I. in 1935 and in 1944 added the Chairmanship. He held the combined posts for the next 19 years, during which time T.I. developed from a small local engineering company into one of the biggest companies in the world.

He was invited to sit on the Boards of the National Provincial Bank (subsequently National Westminster Bank), as Deputy chairman; the Atlas Assurance Company; the Rank Organisation; and the District Bank.