Gordon (Entrepreneur)

Sir Sidney Gordon GBE CBE JP (born Sidney Samuel Gordon; 20 August 1917 – 11 April 2007) was a British chartered accountant and entrepreneur. He served on the boards of Kadoorie & Sons Limited and The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited, and was Chairman of China Light and Power from 1992 to 1996. He also served as an unofficial member of both the Legislative Council (1962–1966) and the Executive Council (1965–1980) of Hong Kong, and held various public appointments thereafter.

Early life

Gordon was born on 20 August 1917 in Glasgow, Scotland, to P. S. Gordon and Angusina Gordon. He attended Hyndland School in Glasgow and studied at the University of Glasgow, becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Business career

From 1956 to 1970, Gordon was Senior Partner at Price Waterhouse & Co. in Hong Kong. He also held directorships including Vice‑Chairman of The Peak Tramways Company, board member of United Rubber and other firms, and Chairman of Board of Directors at BoardSource Asia, South Seas Group, Hong Kong Home Loan Corporation, Rediffusion Television, and Commercial Radio.

A close associate of the Kadoorie family, Gordon joined the board of Kadoorie & Sons Limited and served on the board of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited from 1962 to 2006. In 1971, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of China Light and Power, and in 1992 succeeded Lawrence Kadoorie as Chairman, a post he held until 1996 when Michael Kadoorie took over.

Public service

Gordon served as an unofficial member of the Legislative Council (1962–1966) and the Executive Council (1965–1980). He chaired the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee (1974–1976) and was appointed Chairman of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service (1988–2000). He was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 1999 for his public service.

Outside government, he was President of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (1963–1964) and long served on its Chamber Council. He was also a board member and Honorary Vice‑President of The Community Chest of Hong Kong.

Gordon died of natural causes at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital on 11 April 2007, aged 89.

Personal life

Gordon married Olive W. F. Eldon (a former nurse at Queen Mary Hospital) in 1950; she died in 1992. They had two daughters. A keen racehorse owner, his horses included Strong Scotch and Inverness. He was a member of Shek O Country Club, Hong Kong Golf Club (President 1983–1991; lifetime honorary member), Hong Kong Country Club, Hong Kong Polo Club, Oriental Club, and Honorary Steward of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

In April 1976, Mrs Gordon successfully fended off an attempted assault near Chuk Yuen Reservoir.

Honours

• Justice of the Peace (1961)
• OBE (1965)
• CBE (1968)
• Knight (Kt., 1972)
• Grand Bauhinia Medal (1999)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, Chinese University of Hong Kong (1970)

See also

• Kadoorie family
• China Light and Power

External links

• [Government Archives, photo of Sir Sidney Gordon in Executive Council]
• "Sir Sidney Gordon", Daily Telegraph obituary, 11 May 2007
• 1997 Annual Report of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited, biography section
• "The Last Taipan Retires in Hong Kong", The New York Times, 17 October 1992