Kevin Morley

Kevin Thomas Morley (born May 1950), is a Liverpool born businessman, known for being the former managing director, sales and marketing of the former Rover Group.^[1]

Holding an MSc from the University of Surrey and Master of Business Administration from Aston University,^[2] Morley joined Ford UK in 1977, and during a nine-year career achieved 11 promotions.^[3]

Morley joined the Austin Rover Group in 1986 as marketing director under Canadian Graham Day,^[4] where his first project was the Rover 200 Mk2/R8 in 1989. Morley was appointed managing director, sales and marketing of the Rover Car Group five years later, the company had a turnover of £3.2 billion and a staff of 1100.^[3] In 1991, Morley appeared in Rowan Atkinson's mockumentary, The Driven Man, speaking about the relationship people have with the car as a construct.^[5]

After leaving Rover in 1992, Morley set up Kevin Morley Marketing, whose sole client was Rover Group. Having described the motor marketing as a "bunch of expensive lunch-bandits," in 1995 Morley sold the company to Lintas.^[6]

Morley has been a director of dfs Plc, Flying Flowers, Jacobs Holdings; and founding member of the Advisory Board of Jon Moulton's Venture Capital company Alchemy Partners.^[3]

Morley is a Chairman of several private companies, and Senior non-executive director of Stadium Group.He became chairman and head of Young Driver in 2009 and appeared both on the television and radio promoting it.

^[3] Morley is Honorary Professor of Business Studies at University of Warwick.^[7]

In March 2009, Morley appeared on Channel 4's reality television show Secret Millionaire, where working as a volunteer among community projects in Haringey, north London, he donated £250,000.^[8]

Married with two children, Morley and his family live in Slinfold, Horsham. His cars include a Ferrari 599 GTB.