A tribute to David Barber
10 January 2022
We are saddened to mark the passing of David Barber, who died last week.
David co-founded Halma plc in 1972 with Mike Arthur, transforming a small holding company into the FTSE 100 global group of technology companies that we know today. David was CEO for over 20 years, and the Chair until his retirement in 2003.
David was a visionary leader and established the foundations that - nearly 50 years on - underpin Halma today. He introduced Halma’s sustainable self-financing model which powers Halma’s growth. He created Halma’s decentralised corporate structure of companies with their own boards of directors, empowered to make their own decisions. David was committed to building an ethical culture and clear, purpose-driven governance that we now call Halma’s DNA. And he took a long-term approach to growing the business, carefully acquiring companies in niche markets that are driven by long-term growth drivers.
“lt won't surprise you to learn that at Halma we choose the long-term view, aiming from the start to build slowly and carefully, very much with an eye to the future,” he said in a speech in 1997 to business leaders.
During David’s tenure, Halma acquired more than 60 companies and many of them - including Apollo, Crowcon, Keeler, Palintest, Perma Pure and Volk - remain part of Halma today. This helped to drive Halma’s strong financial performance, reflected in its share price which increased 37,850% between 1973 and 2003.
Andrew Williams, Halma’s Group Chief Executive, who joined Halma as a director of a subsidiary company in 1994 when Halma was still under David’s leadership, said: “Halma’s unique organisational model and cultural principles can be traced back to David and his enduring vision. We are grateful for everything that he has done to put in place the foundations that continue to make Halma the successful business it is today. He leaves an extraordinary legacy, and we will continue to build on the ethos on which he founded Halma nearly 50 years ago.”
