Walter Charles Puckey
Sir Walter Charles Puckey (1899-1983), aeronautical and electrical engineer, and leader in industrial management
1899 Born in Fowey, Cornwall, son of Thomas Edward Puckey, a seaman, and his wife Annie[1][2]
After a variety of training posts, he joined Hoover Ltd as an apprentice.
1926 Married Alice R Richards in Dartford[3]
1935 He rose through Hoover and was appointed Works Manager in 1935
WWII and afterwards, he served on several government bodies including the Die Cast Production Committee, the Hosiery Working Party and the Dollar Export Board.
1950 Became General Works Manager and Director.
1950 Chairman of the Council of the Institution of Production Engineers (IProdE) (1950-1952)
1951 He left Hoover to become the Deputy Controller of Supplies (Aircraft Production) at the Ministry of Supply, one of three industrialists brought in to address the problems of aircraft production and to build up Britain's air strength.
1953 Returned to industry. He took up several chairmanships and directorships in the 1950s, including posts at Black and Decker, Everett, Edgcumbe and Co Ltd, English Numbering Machines Ltd and International Computers and Tabulators Ltd.
1953 President of the Institution of Production Engineers (1953-1955).
1953 Founder-member of the British Institute of Management (1953-1960)
1954 Knighted.
Mid-1950s he formed Management Selection Ltd (MSL) a management consultancy firm. MSL implemented Sir Walter's belief that managers should be selected democratically through proper job advertisements and that they should have job descriptions and salary scales drawn up. He also believed that managers could be trained and educated to do their jobs better, and he strongly opposed the traditional British system of appointments by succession and on nebulous ideas of leadership qualities.
1956 Formed Automation Consultants and Associates Ltd, the first British company formed specifically to advise on automation. Throughout his career he worked ceaselessly to explain the benefits and implications of automation to industry and the public.
He sat on the British Productivity Council (1955-1957); he was a member of the National Council for Technological Awards' Industrial Training Panel, and he chaired the British Conference on Computation and Control. He was also an independent member of the Post Master General's Television Advisory Committee.
1983 Died