Leonard Lord

Leonard Percy Lord (1896 to 1967), later Baron Lambury, was a British motor industry manager who rose from a jig draughtsman in Coventry to run two of the country's largest car makers. He learned production methods at Morris Motors, where he became managing director in 1933, left after a long conflict with William Morris, and in 1938 joined the rival Austin Motor Company, taking control after Herbert Austin died in 1941. After the Second World War he chaired Austin, expanded its plants abroad, and in 1952 brought it together with the Nuffield Organization to form the British Motor Corporation, of which he became president. He backed Alec Issigonis in creating the Mini and the 1100, though his legacy also includes a sprawling product range. He was knighted in 1954 and raised to the peerage in 1962.