Sir Robin Ibbs obituary

Sir Robin Ibbs, who has died aged 88, made his mark in three very distinct areas. He was a senior director of ICI, became the respected head of Margaret Thatcher's thinktank, responsible for changes that reshaped the civil service, and following that an unexpected, and unexpectedly successful, chairman of Lloyds Bank, later Lloyds TSB.

Born in Birmingham, he was the son of TL (Thomas) Ibbs, a professor of physics at Birmingham University, and his wife Marjorie (nee Bell). He went to Gresham's school in Norfolk, and was sent during the second world war to Canada, where his education continued at Upper Canada college in Toronto, and Toronto University. He returned to the UK to read mechanical sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge.