David McMurtry

Sir David Roberts McMurtry (born 15 March 1940) is an Irish-British billionaire, the co-founder and executive chairman of Renishaw plc, the UK's largest supplier of metrology equipment. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$1.3 billion.^[2]

David Roberts McMurtry was born in 1940 in Clontarf, Ireland.^[3] He was brought up in Dublin and educated at Mountjoy School (now the Mount Temple Comprehensive School) in Dublin.^[4]

McMurtry joined Bristol Aero Engines as an apprentice in 1958.^[5] In 1966, following an acquisition, he found himself employed by Rolls-Royce plc where he became Deputy Chief Designer and Assistant Chief of Engine Design at Filton.^[5] In 1973, while working on Concorde's engines, he designed his first trigger probe.^[5] He worked on the Turbo-Union RB199 engine.^[6]

In 1973, he joined his former colleague John Deer to set up Renishaw plc.^[5][2] The company floated on the Unlisted Securities Market in 1983, and gained a full listing the following year.^[7] In 1987, McMurtry acquired the patents for his trigger probes from Rolls-Royce plc and began to exploit the patents himself.^[5] In 1989, he became a Royal Designer for Industry.^[8]

McMurtry was awarded the CBE in 1994^[9] and was knighted in the 2001 New Year Honours.^[10]

McMurtry received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1998.^[11] In 2001, McMurtry was elected a Fellow^[12] of the Royal Academy of Engineering.^[12] In 2008, the University of Bath^[13] awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 2011, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.^[14] He won the Institute of Physics Swan Medal and Prize in 2012.^[15]

In 2018, McMurtry stepped down as chief executive of Renishaw and was replaced by marketing and sales director William Lee.^[16]

On 2 March 2021, McMurtry, along with John Deer, indicated that they wished to dispose of their entire holdings in Renishaw, comprising some 53% of the shares, as 'we recognise that neither of us is getting any younger'. The Renishaw board then announced that it was launching a formal sale process for the entire company.^[17] This process was terminated on 7 July 2021, the board concluding that none of the proposals met their objectives.^[18]

In June 2024, McMurtry stepped down as executive chairman of Renishaw but will remain on the board as a non-executive director.^[19]

McMurtry and his wife, Teresa, have two sons and a daughter.^[20] He lives in Wotton-under-Edge, England.^[2]

In 2001, McMurtry started work on Swinhay House. Now complete, the "£30m futuristic eco-house" appeared in an episode of the BBC television series Sherlock.^[3]