Sir (John) David Rowland
Honorary Fellow of Green Templeton College from 2003
President of Templeton College from 1998 to 2002
We are saddened to hear today of the loss of Sir David Rowland, President of Templeton College from 1998 until 2002, and Honorary Fellow of Templeton College (and then Green Templeton College) from 2003.
Leading up to his election as President of Templeton College in 1998, Sir David was a significant and impressive figure in the world of insurance.
Although he studied medicine at Cambridge, he eventually decided that he should be doing something he was “naturally good at”. After a kidney complaint cut short his National Service career and a possible life in the Royal Horseguards, he took up an introduction his father had made to the chairman of the City insurance broker Matthews Wrightson. This began his career in the City.
Sir David was Chairman of Lloydβs between 1993 and 1997 and played a critical role in safeguarding the future of the Lloyd’s market through perhaps its most difficult period. He was awarded a Gold Medal for Services to Lloyd’s in 1996. (The medal has been awarded just 17 times since it was first introduced in 1919.) He was on the Board of NatWest in 1998, elected Deputy Chairman in 1999, then became Group Chief Executive later that same year, and retiring from the Board in 2000.
Sir David once put much of his success down to the help he received from others. “I made a number of balls-ups, which was very healthy. But I found that if you sought help, it was extraordinary how people would help you. I quite frequently feel the reason I’ve got on is because people have been so nice to me.” He felt so strongly about this that he deliberately took on other activities, such as helping Templeton College to expand, in order to find out if he could succeed without a helping hand; he found he could.Β (The Independent, 2 August 1992)
He was awarded a Knighthood in the 1997 New Year’s Honours List.
When Sir David took up the Presidency at Templeton College, he said that this was “an opportunity to make a unique contribution to management education as Oxford’s practical point between business and scholarship.” His outstanding experience and abilities, and his long support for the study of management at the University, were a tremendous boost to Templeton College and Business at Oxford. He was a highly respected and very appreciated member of the College community, and we owe him a debt of gratitude for the impact of his leadership.
We would like to express our deepest sympathy to Sir David’s family. He is survived by his wife Diana, son Mark, and six grandchildren.
