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Ray Kelvin

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Ray Kelvin
CBE
Born
Raymond Stuart Kelvin

(1955-12-11) 11 December 1955 (age 68)
London, England
EducationJFS
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder and former chief executive of Ted Baker
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1993; div. 2000)​
Clare Kelvin
​
(m. 2012)​
Children3

Raymond Stuart Kelvin CBE (born on 11 December 1955[1] in north London)[2] is the founder and former chief executive of the retail clothing company Ted Baker.[3][4] He started working in his uncle's menswear shop in Enfield at the age of eleven[5] and founded the Ted Baker brand in 1988 when he opened a shop specialising in men's shirts in Glasgow.[6][7]

Early life and education

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Kelvin, who is Jewish,[8][9] grew up in Edmonton, north London, and was educated at JFS.[6]

Awards

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Kelvin was awarded an honorary doctorate in business administration from the University of Bath in 2007.[10] In the 2011 New Year Honours, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the fashion industry.[6][11]

Personal life

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Kelvin was married for six years to actress Georgia Slowe before splitting up in 1999 and divorcing in 2000. They have two sons. In March 2012, Kelvin married his second wife, Clare (formerly Clare Kavanagh), [12] with whom he has a daughter.[13]

In his spare time he enjoys fly fishing.[7][14]

Harassment allegations

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A former employee created a petition in 2018 that received 2,000 signatures to put an end to his hugs and allegedly inappropriate activities with staff, as a result of an unconfirmed lack of support from Ted Baker's HR department.[4][15] On 7 December 2018, it was announced that Kelvin would be taking voluntary leave of absence from the company.[16] On 4 March 2019, following an internal independent committee investigation, it was announced that Kelvin had resigned and would be leaving Ted Baker with immediate effect.[17][18] Mr Kelvin came back to the firm on an advisory basis about a year after the "forced hugging" scandal.

References

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  1. ^ "Ted Baker Trustees Limited – Company Profile – Endole". www.opencompany.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Ray Kelvin Cbe". The Collection. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  3. ^ Ruddick, Graham (14 October 2013). "Ted Baker chief Ray Kelvin is as unique as his brand". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Ted Baker staff launch petition over 'forced hugging'". BBC News. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  5. ^ Hawkes, Steve; Ahmed, Murad (11 June 2008). "Business big shot: Ray Kelvin of Ted Baker". The Times. Retrieved 26 April 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c Dysch, Marcus (13 January 2011). "Will the real Ted Baker step forward". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b Slade, Darren (21 June 2017). "Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin tells why he invested £80m in Bournemouth". Daily Echo. Bournemouth. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  8. ^ Ryle, Sarah (1 December 2002). "How to get ahead in advertising – at no cost". The Observer. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  9. ^ "...And we make it rock". The Jewish Chronicle. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Day two of summer degree ceremonies" (Press release). Bath, Somerset: University of Bath. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  11. ^ "No. 59647". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2010. p. 8.
  12. ^ Goodway, Nick (21 March 2012). "Ted Baker boss can go up the aisle in style". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  13. ^ Butler, Sarah (7 December 2018). "Ted Baker's Ray Kelvin: 'I can be hard work when I need to be'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  14. ^ Wyn Davies, Gareth (13 September 2012). "Ray Kelvin: Would the real Ted Baker please stand up?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Scrap the forced 'hugs' and end harassment at Ted Baker". platform.organise.org.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Ted Baker boss takes leave of absence". BBC News. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  17. ^ "Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin resigns amid hugging row". BBC News. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  18. ^ Kollewe, Julia (4 March 2019). "Ted Baker boss Ray Kelvin quits after 'forced hugging' claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
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