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Sir Paul Ruddock (1976)

Biography

Sir Paul Ruddock attended KES between 1969 and 1976 having gained a Foundation Scholarship after attending Sharman's Cross Junior School in Solihull. He became House Captain of Gifford and swam, competed in athletics and played rugby for the school.

After gaining a first in law at Mansfield College, Oxford, Sir Paul became the first undergraduate in Europe to join Goldman Sachs in 1980. In 1984 he moved to Schroder and Co. where he became the Head of International. In 1998 he founded Lansdowne Partners, now one of the largest alternative asset managers in Europe. Sir Paul stepped down from his position as CEO of Lansdowne in June 2013 to concentrate on his philanthropic interests.

Sir Paul has been Chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2007 and a trustee since 2002. He is also Chairman of the Gilbert Trust for the Arts, a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a Fellow of Mansfield College Oxford, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and an Ambassador for Afrikids. With his wife Jill, he established the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts which supports widespread cultural activities and the Second Half Foundation which promotes active aging.

Why I am supporting the AP100 Campaign

I came from a professional middle class background but my parents had come from very poor backgrounds. I went to the local junior school, and King Edward's, for me, was an amazing springboard. Not only did it provide a fantastic academic education that led on to Oxford, it also provided wonderful opportunities in drama, music and sport and without a doubt stimulated my passions for history and art which have been a core part of my life ever since. I could not have become the person I am without King Edward's and the inspirational teaching it gave me. If I were applying today, unless a bursary had been available, my parents could not have afforded to send me to KES and my life might have been very different.