Sir John Maurice Laing (1 February 1918 – 22 February 2008) was a senior executive of British construction companyJohn Laing plc. He was the first president of theConfederation of British Industry in 1965–66.[1]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Maurice Laing" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Laing was born inCarlisle,Cumberland, the younger son of SirJohn Laing. The family were strictChristian Brethren. Laing's father had been running the family construction firm, John Laing & Son, since 1910, and Laing worked for the firm in his school holidays. The headquarters of the business moved from Carlisle toMill Hill in 1926, and Laing was educated atSt Lawrence College, Ramsgate.
In 1935, aged 17, he began to work full-time with his father at the family firm. Meanwhile, his elder brother, SirWilliam Kirby Laing, studied engineering atCambridge University. After working as a trainee, he began managing the construction of new airfields andbarrage balloon stations in 1938.
Despite his reserved occupation, and against his father's wishes, he joined theRAF during theSecond World War. He initially served in the ranks, and was aLeading Aircraftman when he was commissioned as aPilot Officer,RAFVR on 30 October 1943;[2] he was promotedFlying Officer in April 1944.[3] His wife's poor health due totuberculosis delayed his training, but he qualified as a pilot in South Africa, and flew the second British glider across theRhine.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Maurice Laing" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Laing returned to construction in 1945. The company was floated on theLondon Stock Exchange in 1953, and John Laing retired in 1957. Having climbed up the management structure of the firm, Maurice took the #2 position in 1966, supporting his brother Kirby as chairman.
The buildings and structures built by the firm ranged from the first 52 miles of theM1 – the first motorway in the UK – built in 1958 and 1959 to connectWatford andRugby; throughnuclear power stations; to the newCoventry Cathedral andLondon Central Mosque. Laing swapped positions with his brother in 1976, becoming chairman of the Laing Group. He separated the company's property division from its construction division, creating a separate company, Laing Properties, which was floated in 1978. He became the group's life president when he retired in 1982. Despite his opposition, the property company was taken over byP&O in 1992.
He was a member of theNational Economic Development Council from 1962 until 1966, and was a director of theBank of England from 1963 to 1980.[4][5][6][7][8]
He was the last president of theBritish Employers' Federation in 1964. Following its merger with theFederation of British Industries andNational Association of British Manufacturers, Laing was the first president of their successor, the CBI, in 1965. He wasknighted in the 1965Queen's Birthday Honours.[9][10] He was also a governor of theAdministrative Staff College and of theNational Institute of Social and Economic Research, and president of theFederation of Civil Engineering Contractors. He was president of theLondon Bible College.
He was rear-commodore and a trustee of theRoyal Yacht Squadron, president of theRoyal Yachting Association, and admiral of theRoyal Ocean Racing Club and of theIsland Sailing Club based inCowes. Because of this love of sailing and yachting, Maurice Laing donated a sum of money to the Ocean Youth Club (later the Ocean Youth Trust) in 1990 to build a boat to help educate young people and disabled members of society in the fine art of yacht sailing.
Laing married Hilda Richards in March 1940. He was survived by his wife and their son, John, who runs theRufford Foundation, a private grant-making organisation.[citation needed]