Sir John Michael Leal Uren (1 September 1923 – 9 August 2019) was a British businessman. He served as the chairman of Civil & Marine from 1955 to 2006. He donated GBP ã40 million to his alma mater, Imperial College London, becoming the most generous benefactor in the CollegeâÂÂs history.
Michael Uren was born on 1 September 1923. He was educated at Sherborne School and Imperial College London, from which he graduated in 1943 with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and Motive Power.
Uren founded Civil & Marine, a manufacturer of ground granulated blast-furnace slag, in 1955. In the 80âÂÂs his company developed the technology that allowed them to make high-quality cement from blast-furnace slag, a waste product of the steel industry. Uren and his business partner John Hobbins turned this invention into a profitable business.
He served as its Chairman until he sold it for GBPã245 million in 2006 to the Hanson Group.
As of 2015, he was worth an estimated GBPã170 million.
Uren served as the chairman of the Royal London Society for the Blind.
Uren donated GBP ã30 million to the King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes in 2013. In 2014, he also donated GBPã40 million to his alma mater, Imperial College London, to fund the creation of the College's new "Bio-Medical Engineering Research Centre" in White City, London, which he envisioned as becoming a cornerstone for "a new Silicon Valley" of biotechnology.
Uren was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for services to the Royal London Society For the Blind. He was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for philanthropic services.
He died on 9 August 2019 at the age of 95.