Alec Reed (1934–2025)

Alec Reed was a businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and humanist. As founder of the Reed Group he built an enormously successful business empire, but never lost a desire to help others. His founding of The Big Give helped to usher in a new age of charitable giving, securing millions for those in need. A life member of Humanists UK, Reed’s humanist ideals of integrity, responsibility, and kindness were at the heart of his ‘logical view of life’.

Alec Reed was born on 16 February in Hounslow, the son of Nancy Underwood and Leonard Reed, a lithographer. He left school at 16 and worked first as an office boy, before qualifying in 1954 as a Chartered Secretary. The following year, he joined Gillette as a trainee accountant, where he saw the potential in recruitment. He founded his first employment agency in May 1960. In 1961, Reed married Adrianne Eyre, who he described as his ‘soulmate’. The couple had three children together. Within three years, Reed Employment (later Reed) boasted ten branches. By 1972, the number was 100.

That year, Reed founded Reed Charity (later Reed Foundation) and Reed Business School. His first charitable enterprise, begun after his volunteering experiences, had been Addicts Rehabilitation Charity (ARC), focusing on supporting people experiencing addiction to find work. In 1989, Reed founded Ethiopiaid (supporting local partners working to improve health, education, and opportunities for people in Ethiopia), and Womankind (focused on the mental health and safety of women).

Reed’s upbringing had not been religious, but in his early 20s he was briefly drawn towards Christianity, becoming friends with Alpha Course founder Sandy Miller. Ultimately, though, he found his home in humanism, becoming a life member of the British Humanist Association (Humanists UK). In his autobiography published in 2011, he wrote:

In 1994, Reed was awarded the CBE. His internet recruitment site, the first of its kind, was launched in 1995. In 2007, seeking ‘a more intelligent way of giving money to charity’, Reed launched The Big Give, a website designed to make donors aware of the existence and needs of charities. In Reed’s words: ‘I want to give intelligently and I believe that most people feel the same way; they will give more if they can easily find a charity that truly engages them’. As well as his own charities, Reed gave time and support to a number of others, including Help the Aged. In 2011, he was knighted for services to business and charity.

Alec Reed died on 2 December 2025, survived by his wife of 64 years, his children, 11 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Writing on the website of The Big Give, Reed’s son James said his father had told him in his final days that ‘he felt lucky, had a good life and was ready to go’.

A humanist and humanitarian, Alec Reed is remembered as a man who changed the landscape of philanthropy, and as an entrepreneur perpetually motivated by a firm belief in the power of people, inspiration, and being unafraid to try.

I Love Mondays: the autobiography of Alec Reed by Alec Reed, with Judi Bevan (2011)

A tribute to Sir Alec Reed from his son and Big Give Chair, James Reed | The Big Give

Sir Alec Reed obituary | The Guardian

_{Main image: Portrait photo of Sir Alec Reed taken 2022 by Oiona. CC BY-SA 4.0}