Roland Rudd
| Roland Rudd | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Roland Dacre Rudd 1961 (age 55–56) Kensington, England |
| Residence | Somerset & Holland Park |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Regent's Park College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Public relations executive |
| Employer | Finsbury |
| Spouse(s) | Sophie Hale |
| Relatives | Amber Rudd (sister) |
Roland Dacre Rudd (born 1961) is the founder and chairman of Finsbury (formerly RLM Finsbury), the public relations firm. Rudd was educated at Oxford University, becoming President of the Oxford Union before starting a career in journalism that he left to found Finsbury. He sold that company to WPP plc in 2001, making an estimated £40 million. He continues as chairman of Finsbury and has a variety of other charitable and non-executive posts. He is strongly in favour of British engagement with the European Union and has campaigned for electoral reform. He has been seen as having more political contacts on the left than the right.
Rudd was born in 1961, one of four children of Tony Rudd, a stockbroker; his sisters are Amanda, Melissa, and Amber, who is a Conservative Party Member of Parliament and the Home Secretary.
As a child he wanted to be Prime Minister. He was educated at Millfield School which is known for its sporting achievements, but he does not claim particular sporting ability. Later he read philosophy and theology at Regent's Park College, Oxford University, but says "I don't regard myself as a Christian as such – well, perhaps a lazy Christian." He was president of the Oxford Union, a position that he succeeded in obtaining on his third attempt. At Oxford he became friends with Hugo Dixon and they travelled to America to work on Walter Mondale's campaign for the Democratic Party nomination but transferred to his rival Gary Hart when Mondale couldn't find room for them.
Rudd is married to Sophie Hale, a designer of womenswear.
After graduating, Rudd worked as a policy coordinator for David Owen and the Social Democratic Party (he was the first SDP president of the Oxford Union). He was a financial journalist at the Sunday Correspondent and the Financial Times. At the Sunday Correspondent, Rudd became friends with Robert Peston, now political editor for ITV News, and they worked together at the Financial Times where the two were known as the "Pest and the Rat". Rudd taking the nickname in reference to the then popular children's television character Roland Rat.
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