He joined Rolls-Royce in 1955 as a graduate apprentice in Derby and worked on the development of civil engines, in particular the Conway turbofan which powered the Vickers VC10 and Handley-Page Victor. He moved into programme management in the late 1960s and early in the following decade transferred to the US as Executive Vice President of Rolls-Royce Aero Engines Inc. He was appointed Commercial Director in 1978, joined the Board in 1982, became Managing Director in 1984, was named the company’s first Chief Executive in 1991 and then became Chairman the following year. When he stood down in 2003, he was the company’s longest serving employee. He remained a passionate advocate for Rolls-Royce’s engineering and continued to champion our work and legacy as President of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.
Sir Ralph played a pivotal role in reviving Rolls-Royce’s fortunes after the dramatic events of 1971, when the company had to be nationalised and the aerospace and automobile operations demerged. As Commercial Director, he was instrumental in securing contracts to power aircraft for customers including Cathay Pacific and British Airways. These were vital in paving the way for the privatisation of Rolls-Royce in 1987, which Sir Ralph helped steer to success as Managing Director. The following decade, Sir Ralph sealed a deal to buy Allison Engines, based in Indianapolis. That relationship effectively created the US defence operation that Rolls-Royce has today.
In Civil Aerospace, Sir Ralph’s legacy will endure for decades. In 1988, one year after successfully floating the company on the London Stock Exchange, Sir Ralph launched the Trent engine programme. At the time, he said “I see no reason why we cannot look forward to producing Trent engines over the same period as the Dart. We produced new Dart engines for 40 years. It would not surprise me that we produce new Trent engines for 40 years.” He was right. The Trent programme has gone from strength to strength and today there are over 4,600 Trent engines in service with airlines around the world and there are orders for over 2,200 more.