Michael Clapham (industrialist)

Sir Michael Clapham
KBE
President of Confederation of British Industry
In office
1972–1974
Chairman of IMI plc
In office
1974–1981
Chairman of Council for National Academic Awards
In office
1971–1977
Personal details
Born(1912-01-17)17 January 1912
Died11 November 2002(2002-11-11) (aged 90)
London, England
CitizenshipBritish
NationalityBritish
SpouseElisabeth Rea
RelationsSir John Clapham (father)
Walter Rea, 1st Baron Rea (father-in-law)
Philip Rea, 2nd Baron Rea (brother-in-law)
Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea (nephew)
ChildrenAdam, Marcus, Antonia, Giles
Residence(s)London, United Kingdom
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge
OccupationIndustrialist Printer
Known forPharmaceuticals
Printing

Sir Michael John Sinclair Clapham KBE (17 January 1912 – 11 November 2002) was a prominent British Industrialist who served as president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in the mid-1970s during a period of significant economic turmoil and as a senior executive of ICI throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. As CBI president he witnessed the fall of the administration of Edward Heath in the wake of the miners' strike, and the re-emergence of the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. He was directly involved, along with CBI director-general Campbell Adamson, in intense and volatile debate on voluntary pay restraint and price controls with Health and trade union leaders.

Clapham who was a classical scholar and a master printer by trade, also invented an isotope diffusion barrier whilst working on silk screen printing techniques during World War II which led to him being seconded to the Tube Alloys Project pursuing the development of the atom bomb.