| Fetchwikidata: | ALL |
| Onlysourced: | yes |
| Will Butler-Adams | |
| Dateformat: | dmy |
| Honorific Suffix: | OBE, FRGS |
| Birth Name: | William David Butler-Adams |
| Birth Date: | 1974 5, df=y |
| Alma Mater: | Newcastle University |
| Suppressfields: | awards father mother |
| Children: | Three daughters |
William David Butler-Adams (born 11 May 1974 in London) OBE FRGS is the managing director of Brompton Bicycle Limited[1] [2] [3] a manufacturer based in the United Kingdom[4] and Brompton Bike Hire Limited[5] a provider of bicycle-sharing systems.[6]
Butler-Adams was born in London, the last of four children of Rosalie, daughter of Major General William Pat Arthur Bradshaw and David Bernard Butler-Adams (b. 1939), a wine merchant. David's father was Derek Butler-Adams (1908–1996). David's mother was Beatrice Margaret Baker (1911–1994), the latter by whom William David Butler-Adams is related to Anglican priest Robin Griffith-Jones, cricket enthusiast Nigel Baker and British politician Peter Baker.
Butler-Adams was educated at Aysgarth School in Yorkshire and Rugby School from 1987 to 1992 in Warwickshire.[7] He was awarded a first class Master of Engineering (MEng) degree in Mechanical engineering from Newcastle University in 1997. During his degree he studied the Spanish language at the University of Valladolid in Spain.[8]
He started his career as a project manager for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) where he worked from 1997 to 2000 and continued as a Plant Manager for DuPont from 2000 to 2002. He joined Brompton at the age of 28,[9] following a serendipitous meeting with the company's chairman, Tim Guinness, on a coach journey.
At Brompton, he was promoted to director in 2006 and managing director (aka CEO) in 2008.[10] Since 2002, Brompton has increased in size by an order of magnitude, from around 27 employees to over 200 employees while turnover has increased from around £2 million to £25 million.[10] he serves as a commissioner on the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.[11] [12] [13]
Butler-Adams has been a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE) since 1993 and a Fellow (FIMechE) since 2014. He qualified as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) in 2001 and has been a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society since 2013. He was appointed Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours.
Butler-Adams married Sarah Georgina MacIntyre in 2004 and has three daughters.[14] His recreations include aviation (he holds a private pilot licence) and wine (he has been a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Vintners since 2010).
Other recreations include travel and the environment: in 1995 he led a nine-week expedition up the Amazon River, which was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary and also led an expedition to summit of Aconcagua in 2000, which raised over £130,000 for charitable causes.