Wilfred Cass CBE FRSA

Aged 83, Wilfred lives in the grounds of the Cass Sculpture Foundation's sculpture park in Goodwood, near Chichester, West Sussex, with his wife Jeannette.

Wilfred was born in Berlin and comes from the famous Cassirer family. His great uncle, Paul Cassirer, was the most important dealer for the impressionists in Europe. His grandfather was Richard Cassirer, the famous German brain surgeon and his other great uncles included a publisher, industrialist and the philosopher, Ernst Cassirer.

Educated at Frensham Heights, Surrey (1936-41), his career began with an apprenticeship at Arthur Marriot Ltd, an electricians company in Loughborough (1941-2) after which he moved to London to work as a telephone assembler and tester for Modern Telephone Ltd (1942-3).

In 1943 Wilfred enlisted in the Army in the Royal Engineers (REME) where he worked on electronic gun control and lectured on electronics at Leicester Technical College.

After the war, Wilfred returned to civilian life and resumed work as junior research engineer for Telephone Rentals in Knightsbridge, London (1946-7).

Wilfred then went on to study for an HND in Communication Technology at the Regent Polytechnic, London (now the University of Westminster) between 1947-51.

In 1951, Wilfred joined Pye Ltd in Cambridge where he worked for 7 years in the Radio and TV development department and was responsible for pioneering work on printed circuits and television receiver design. He was instrumental in the company obtaining patents for the method of printed circuit boards.

1955, his brother, Eric Cass, set up Cass Electronics Ltd (Cass Group PLC) with Wilfred. Wilfred became Deputy Chairman until the company was sold in August 1985 to Telephone Rentals Plc.

1959 saw Wilfred leave Pye Ltd with Richard Hadfield, to start up his own consultancy, Cass McLaren Ltd working for various television companies including Regentone Electronics of Romford. They also started up The Rotawinder High Speed Winding Company during this time.

1965-1971, Wilfred built up Gunson Sortex Ltd - the worldwide specialist in electronic sorting machinery - and remained a non-executive Director from 1971-75. Out of Sortex came a company called Colour Tune Ltd converting car spark plugs into glass diagnostic tools.

1968, Gunson Sortex Ltd was awarded the Queen's Award to Industry for export achievement and a second award Queen's Award to Industry for technical innovation. Wilfred was Managing Director at this point.

In 1972 he became Managing Director of Hadfield Paints Ltd where he remained until 1975. Whilst at Hadfield he introduced the "Fox" campaign, designed by Wolff Olins, for Hadfield's new water-based paints.

In 1974-5 Wilfred became Managing Director of Buck & Hickman Ltd, a major machine tool manufacturer and national tool wholesaler/distributor, bringing about major improvements in the fortunes of this company. The company was bought by Sterling Industries.

1971-76. In 1971 Wilfred bought a material shareholding in the then troubled Reeves and Sons Ltd, manufacturers and distributors of artists' materials, and then went on to become Chairman and Managing Director. He introduced 100 new products and in 1975 won the Design Council's Special Award for a new product range. With the successful reorganisation of this business, Reeves and Sons Ltd bought Dryad Ltd and changed its name to Reeves Dryad Ltd and in 1976 the company was sold to Reckitt & Coleman Ltd.

1976, Wilfred, his son, Mark and daughter, Nikki set up Cass Arts & Crafts Ltd, a retail chain selling arts and craft materials, in part purchased from W.H.Smith Plc. The company was successfully sold in 1985.

1979, Wilfred and his son, Mark, also set up the pioneering and incredibly successful Image Bank UK - one of the UK's largest supplier of film and photography for the advertising industry - and this company was successfully sold to Getty Images in 2001.

1976-1993 Wilfred also worked part-time for the Kennedy Foundation where he helped to start the Special Olympics UK, a charity which provides year-round sports training and athletic competition to people with intellectual disabilities. From initiating their charity from his home, it has now grown into a major successful organisation with its own high-profile sports programme. He resigned as Chairman in 1993.

In 1987 Wilfred became Chairman and Chief Executive of Moss Bros Plc where he reorganised the whole of the troubled group including moving and selling its head office, starting up a new range of Suit Shops and buying Cecil Gee Plc. He remained at the company until 1991.

Upon retiring from Moss Bros in 1992, Wilfred and Jeannette moved to West Sussex from London where they co-founded the registered charity, The Cass Sculpture Foundation (previously known as Sculpture at Goodwood) in 1992. Over the next year, they visited some thirty sculpture parks around the world before deciding upon the style, aim and design of their own estate. Long-term friends of Henry Moore and Elisabeth Frink, Wilfred and Jeannette sold their own personal collection of Moores, Frinks and Ayrtons, which they had bought directly from these artists, to fund the creation of their park.

The Duke of Richmond & Gordon was fundamental in providing the additional acreage needed within ancient woodlands on his Goodwood estate to support the charity's aims. Sir Anthony Caro lent the Foundation his gigantic Tower of Discovery which greatly helped a totally unknown concept get off the ground. The grounds at Goodwood were opened in 1994.

1992-2006, based in Goodwood, West Sussex, the charitable foundation's aim and consistent focus is to promote and advance British sculpture to a global audience and through a vigorous programme of commissioning, funding and marketing, the Foundation has enabled the fabrication of 150 major new works by leading British artists. In 1996, the charity won the National Art Collections Fund prize for "Promoting Enjoyment of the Visual Arts".

2006, The Cass Sculpture Foundation is now recognised around the world not only as a regularly changing display of ongoing British sculptural activity, but also as a unique and rapidly growing educational archive charting the development of 20th and 21st century British sculpture. The Foundation is rapidly being seen as the Home of 21st Century British sculpture. Its motto is "Where else in the world can you see a changing display of 70 specially commissioned monumental sculptures in an idyllic landscape and all for sale".

Wilfred was awarded the CBE in the Queen's 80th Birthday Honours List, June 2006, for services to Art.

Wilfred's hobbies include cars, films, reading, photography, travel, hamburgers and art. He is also fanatical about the internet, Apple computers and anything to do with information technology. The Foundation's website is treated like a paper and changed almost daily.