Michael Grant FBCS, who passed away recently, is remembered dearly as a successful and pioneering IT professional and, more importantly, as a man of huge kindness and generosity.
Michael was a former BCS President, a highly respected tech professional, and, above all, a man universally remembered for his warmth and altruism.
BCS extend our sincere condolences and good wishes to his family and friends as we remember his extraordinary and inspirational life. BCS President Sarah Winmill FRSA CITP CEng FBCS said: ‘Michael was deeply respected across our community, not just as a past president, but because he was unfailingly warm, good-humoured, and generous with his time and spirit. He had a way of making people feel welcome and valued, whether you knew him well or only in passing, and while we feel his loss keenly, we’re also celebrating his life and work.
‘What stays with me most is his unwavering commitment to make IT good for society. Only a couple of weeks ago, he reached out to invite me to an event with the WCIT Spiritual and Ethics Panel — a gesture entirely in keeping with his thoughtful and purposeful nature. I think he would have taken quiet satisfaction in knowing that he was contributing to something meaningful until his final days, and that is a legacy that will endure.’
Sharon Gunn MBCS BFP FCA, Group CEO of BCS, wrote: ‘So many of our members were inspired by Michael’s dedication and energy, as both BCS President and as Master of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. We were very fortunate that he chose to give his time to our community we'll be honouring his life and work in the right way.’
A career well lived
Michael Grant first entered the technology field in the flight simulation industry. He then spent 35 years working in a variety of international marketing and corporate communications roles at director and vice-president level within six IT companies: Gateway, Lotus Development, Commodore, ICL, Prime Computer and Wang. In March 2019, Michael was inaugurated as BCS President.
By his own admission, however, Michael’s successful career was far from preordained. In an interview with ITNOW magazine in 2019, Michael described himself as a ‘child of charity’ and, recalling his early years, he said: ‘I lived for much of my life in a council house. My mother was a secretary and a widow. My father had been a corporal in the Royal Air Force. Really, my prospects were not too great until the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund stepped in when I was seven-and-a-half and I was sent away to a cathedral boarding school for the next 10 years.’
Lessons in life and business
Before information technology, Michael began his working career as a management trainee for Heinz. The experience, in his own words, was extraordinary. One of his early jobs was helping the Heinz family organise an annual event for 2,000 guests at Ascot. He got to meet the founder of Tesco, Jack Cohen, as well as Paul Getty, Princess Margaret and more.
Perhaps more revealing of his true character, however, Michael recalled: ‘Each year, I’d get back to my desk and, as a very junior management trainee on my £12 a week, Mr Henry J Heinz would write me a personal handwritten thank you letter from Pittsburgh, the company’s global headquarters. It’s an attitude to reward and recognition which has stuck with me throughout my life. It was a great lesson.’
A revolution’s foundational days
From there, as today’s IT industry began to take shape, Michael’s career grew in scope and became international. As it did, he rubbed shoulders with many of today’s household names. Speaking to ITNOW, for example, he recalled setting up an exhibition stand for his then-employer, Prime Computer — the inventors of super-minicomputers (the supercomputers of the day). ‘Steve Jobs was struggling to put his exhibition stand together’, Michael recalled. ‘I was quite good at that by then. So, I wandered across the corridor to shovel a couple of bits together for him, and at the end of the show, he came up to me and said: ‘I’d like you to come to my launch party for Apple, my company is Apple’, which, of course, I knew because I’d been helping put the Apple signs up.
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Looking back across his career, he said: ‘I had such an amazing time in the IT industry — far better than any dream I could ever have come up with. I just loved the international aspect of it and the fact that it didn’t matter two hoots where you came from.’
Michael’s wasn’t, however, a life untouched by reality or difficulty. Speaking in 2019, he said: ‘I have a Down’s syndrome son, James, and I have a Down’s and autistic grandchild in the United States. Because I see, and I work with, a lot of people with disabilities, I’m very pleased that [the IT profession] is beginning to focus on designing products in a way that, right from the word go, are made for people from all age groups, from all types of mental ability or disability. That, to me, is the exciting change that has happened.’
Michael’s impact in the industry
Along with becoming BCS President in 2019, Michael also enjoyed prominent roles in many other volunteer-led organisations. Chief among these was the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.
The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT) is one of the City of London’s modern livery companies, which are historic membership organisations that support professional standards, charity and the civic life of the City of London. WCIT focuses on promoting excellence and ethics in information technology through education, professional development, and charitable work that benefits society.
Michael was a Freeman and then a Liveryman of the WCIT. Later, he served as the Company’s Clerk (the equivalent of CEO) from 2005 to 2010, and later as Master in 2012-13.
Speaking about an industry he clearly loved, Michael said: ‘There’s a great pride in being a professional, knowing you’re a professional and knowing that you’ve earned your professionalism.
Other tributes
As we published this celebration, BCS members continued to come forward with their own tributes to Michael Grant:
David Sutton wrote: ‘I first met Michael at a technology conference in Brighton in 2002. Michael was a truly remarkable man. His career included many of the world’s most successful IT organisations, arranging events with an incredible flair, imagination and with budgets to match. In 2024, he began writing The Life of Grant, documenting his career with great candour and humour — a life lived fully. I shall always remember him for his kindness and generosity, I am saddened by his passing and honoured to have known him.’
Julia Adamson MBCS FBCS, Executive Director (Education & Public Benefit), said: Michael was such a kind and thoughtful leader, always curious, always encouraging. He will be deeply missed.’
Chris Rees, a former BCS president, said: ‘Michael was the soul of courtesy, always supportive of me when I was president, a great enthusiast for BCS, as well as the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. He was surprised and delighted to be elected deputy president and then president, roles in which he served with distinction. He was a true friend, and will be sorely missed.’
Trying to sum up a life in just one word is generally a fruitless task. Lives are too big, and his certainly was. In Michael Grant’s case, it may, however, just be possible: Michael was a gentleman.
