Sir Peter Ogden

Sir Peter Ogden
Education

Harvard Business School - 1971-1973
MBA in Business Studies

Durham University - 1968-1971
PhD in Theoretical Physics - studying Elementary Particle Physics

University College, Durham University - 1965-1968
BSc in Physics

Rochdale Grammar School  - 1958- 1965

Charitable Activities
  • Founder, Chairman and Trustee of The Ogden Trust
  • Member of Durham University Development Council
  • Chairman of Westminster School Development Council
  • Member of The Royal Society 350th Anniversary Campaign Board
  • Patron of SHINE (Support and Help In Education) 
Honorary Positions and Degrees
1999 Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge
2000 Fellow and Chartered Physicist, Institute of Physics
2001 MA University of Cambridge
2002 Doctor of Civil Law, Durham University
2003 Visiting Professorship, Department of Physics, Durham University
 
Peter Ogden was educated at Lowerplace Primary School, Rochdale and Rochdale Grammar School, which he entered as an 11+ pupil. From there he won a scholarship to Durham University where he took a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Particle Physics. He then went on to complete an MBA at Harvard Business School before a career in investment banking in both the UK and the US, principally with Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. In 1981 he co-founded the computer services company Computacenter, of which he was Executive Chairman from 1981 – 1997.
 
When Computacenter became a UK public company in 1998, Peter Ogden placed the entire proceeds of the 3,500,000 shares that he sold in the flotation (£22.5m) into the Ogden Charitable Trust, with the intention of helping bright children from low income backgrounds, and science education.
 
When the Ogden Trust was launched in November 1999, Peter Ogden said “Entrepreneurs need to think responsibly about the distribution of their wealth. There is not much point in dying wealthy and leaving the problem to another generation. I chose education because it is so fundamental to the development of an individual”.
 
Sir Peter Ogden received a knighthood for services to education from Her Majesty the Queen, Buckingham Palace on 9 February 2005