2010
Robert Stephen Rubin – A champion for global business ethics
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Art (HonDArt) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the footwear and sportswear industries and to raising ethical standards in manufacturing.
A law graduate of University College, London, who trained as a barrister, Stephen Rubin has been an agile and creative player in a business career spanning more than four decades.
Since 1969 he has been chairman of the Pentland group. It used to be simply a shoe business and was one of the first UK companies to manufacture from Asia. Under Stephen's shrewd leadership it acquired other interests, including in 1981 a small US business called Reebok which was sold on 10 years later as a giant brand. Pentland is now the UK's leading family-owned global brand management business in the sportswear and footwear sector.
He has been a constant promoter of corporate responsibility, conscious of human rights and eliminating child-labour and other exploitation. He has served as World President of the Textiles Institute and won several awards from sportswear industries. He was awarded an OBE in 2002 for his work in business and human rights.