Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield

The Lord Ashfield
A balding, white-haired man wearing 1920s formal business attire (jacket and waistcoat with wing collar and tie) leans to his left on a table and looks directly at the viewer. His right hand rests in front of his left on the edge of the table next to some papers and a pen.
Lord Ashfield by Hugh Cecil, c. 1920
Chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London/London Passenger Transport Board
In office
30 May 1919 – 31 October 1947
Preceded byLord George Hamilton
Succeeded byThe Lord Latham
President of the Board of Trade
In office
10 December 1916 – 26 May 1919
Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd George
Preceded byWalter Runciman
Succeeded bySir Auckland Geddes
Member of Parliament
for Ashton-under-Lyne
In office
23 December 1916 – 31 January 1920
Preceded bySir Max Aitken
Succeeded bySir Walter de Frece
Personal details
Born
Albert Henry Knattriess

8 August 1874 (1874-08-08)
New Normanton, Derbyshire, England
Died4 November 1948(1948-11-04) (aged 74)
London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Grace Lowrey
(m. 1904)
Children2

Albert Henry Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, TD, PC (8 August 1874 – 4 November 1948), born Albert Henry Knattriess, was a British-American businessman who was managing director, then chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) from 1910 to 1933 and chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) from 1933 to 1947.

Although born in Britain, his early career was in the United States, where, at a young age, he held senior positions in the developing tramway systems of Detroit and New Jersey. In 1898, he served in the United States Navy during the short Spanish–American War.

In 1907, his management skills led to his recruitment by the UERL, which was struggling through a financial crisis that threatened its existence. He quickly integrated the company's management and used advertising and public relations to improve profits. As managing director of the UERL from 1910, he led the takeover of competing underground railway companies and bus and tram operations to form an integrated transport operation known as the Combine.

He was Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne from December 1916 to January 1920. He was President of the Board of Trade between December 1916 and May 1919, reorganising the board and establishing specialist departments for various industries. He returned to the UERL and then chaired it and its successor the LPTB during the organisation's most significant period of expansion in the interwar period, making it a world-respected organisation considered an exemplar of the best form of public administration.