Roland Rudd

Early life and education

Roland Dacre Rudd was born in 1961, the son of Tony Rudd, a stockbroker. As a child he wanted to be Prime Minister. He was educated at the private 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.

Family

Rudd is married to Sophie Hale, a designer of womenswear. He was one of four children and has sisters, Amanda, Melissa, and Amber who is a Conservative Party member of Parliament and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

Career

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 economics editor for BBC 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.

In 1994, Rudd left the Financial Times to found RLM Finsbury with Rupert Younger. Rudd told The Independent in 2011, "I was at the Financial Times, writing about M&A and conglomerates. The takeover world always fascinated me. I had wanted to build my own business and could see a gap for a financial PR company which was utterly professional. Right from the start, I hired only the most financially literate staff and was determined to have the top FTSE clients." The firm was sold to Martin Sorrell's WPP plc in 2001 in a deal estimated to have earned Rudd £40 million. In 2011, RLM Finsbury merged with Robinson Lerer & Montgomery of New York. Rudd continued as chairman of the merged firm. In 2014, RLM Finsbury rebranded as just Finsbury.

Rudd's friendship with Peston, who is known for his scoops, has led some to wonder whether Rudd feeds Peston stories, but Rudd has consistently denied it, saying that Peston finds his stories by himself. "It's an absurd idea" Rudd has said, "Robert has a fantastic network of contacts built up over the years."

Politics

Rudd believes in electoral reform and campaigned in support of the introduction of the Alternative vote system in the British referendum of 2011. The proposal failed. He is strongly in favour of British engagement with Europe, and is chairman of Business for New Europe and a member of the Centre for European Reform's advisory board.

Rudd is close to a number of Labour Party politicians. Lord Mandelson is godfather to one of Rudd's children and Rudd campaigned for Mandelson in his Hartlepool constituency in the 2001 general election. Tony Blair's son Euan was an intern at Finsbury and Rudd was one of the "Four Wise Men" who advised Blair in 2007 on life after leaving office. Rudd has also been linked to Ed Balls and Tessa Jowell of Labour, and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats.

Other appointments

Rudd is a trustee of the Royal Opera House, the Speakers for Schools programme, and the Garden Bridge Trust. He is a non-executive director of the Army Board, patron of the NSPCC, and governor of Wellington College. He is a visiting fellow at Oxford University's Centre for Corporate Reputation, part of the Said Business School.