The chairman of Ulverston-based Oxley Group has retired from the business after 11 years.
Peter Bedwin, MBE, FRAeS has a long history with Oxley, first dealing with the business in 1993 as managing director of ITT Defence Ltd which led to a valuable contract for Oxley supplying a memory device for the ITT Bowman Radio which was a new radio for the British army.
After retiring from ITT, Peter provided advice to Mrs Oxley and became chairman of the group in January 2013.
Peter started his career as an engineering apprentice in the Royal Air Force. He went on to be commissioned and trained as a fighter pilot flying the English Electric Lightning and then the Phantom aircraft.
On leaving the RAF in 1982 he flew commercially operating a corporate aircraft for a Swiss travel and shipping company.
His industrial career started with Ferranti Computer Systems in 1986, then Plessey before joining the ITT Defence Division as their European business development director. He went on to form a UK subsidiary for the ITT Corporation, ITT Defence Ltd in 1992.
During Peter’s tenure as Oxley chair the business faced many challenges with industry changes and the impact of Covid, but the business still achieved significant growth.
As a former apprentice himself, Peter was proud to reside over the re-establishment of the Oxley apprentice scheme and personally met all apprentices joining the business to outline the exciting opportunities he saw ahead for them.
“I would like to thank Peter for all his support, the business finds itself in a strong position today and this is a testament to Peter’s determination and resolve in steering the business over the last 11 years,” Darren Cavan, Oxley Group CEO, said.
“On a personal note, I would also like to thank Peter for his guidance and mentoring when I took on the role of CEO in 2018. The whole Oxley team wishes Peter a long and happy retirement.”
