Mike O'Regan

Mike O'Regan studied economics at Cambridge before joining Mike Fischer to create Research Machines in 1973. While Fischer concentrated on electronics and product design, O'Regan handled sales, administration and finance as the pair built the business with limited capital.

The founders used contract engineering and their Sintel mail-order operation to finance a move into microcomputers. O'Regan helped establish the commercial and education relationships that turned the 380Z from an experimental design into a successful school computer.

He remained an executive director until 1992 and later served as a non-executive director. His work helped Research Machines become a durable supplier of computers, networks and services to British education.