Sir Denys Henderson, former chairman of Britain’s Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) has died at the age of 83. Henderson’s legacy is the 1993 break-up of ICI into a chemical company of the same name and the life sciences company Zeneca, which later merged with Sweden’s Astra to become AstraZeneca. ICI was sold subsequently to AkzoNobel of the Netherlands, which stripped it down to its paints and coatings business.

The well-connected executive was born in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) in 1932, the son of a tea planting family that later relocated to Aberdeen, Scotland. After taking a law degree from Aberdeen University, Henderson joined ICI in 1957 and rose through the ranks to the company’s top job.

After the corporate split, he served two years as chairman of both ICI and Zeneca. As well as serving on the board of directors Henderson was appointed as the first crown estate commissioner and also did stints as Chancellor of Bath University, chairman of the governors of Henley Management College and president of the British Quality Foundation.