OV Rupert’s Return

It had been a while since OV Rupert Bader (Os 82-89) had been back at the School, having moved to the United States not long after leaving.

Rupert was accompanied by Head of Alumni and Business Development, Hannah Sparrey, and as they walked around, Rupert shared the details of his journey from the UK to Seattle. He left King’s in 1989, had two years ‘out’, working at Metal Box and rowing for Worcester Rowing Club lightweights, and then started at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1994. He specialises in workforce planning and analytics, and, after roles at Chase, Towers Perrin and Avaya in the New York area, he moved to Seattle for director-level roles at Microsoft and Expedia. This year he started his own firm, HR & Finance Decisions, serving an international set of clients. Rupert’s father was the well-known, Worcestershire-based photographer Tom Bader, who took all the School’s official photos for a number of years and was a well-loved member of the King’s family.

The last time Rupert was at King’s, the Keyes Building had not been built, so he was pleased to look round it and was very impressed with its facilities, in particular the climbing wall. They visited Fishermen’s Cottages, which was where Oswald was located during Rupert’s time at school. He said it was unusual for a Day House to have a whole house instead of individual rooms and they made the most of it!

Rupert was delighted with the Matthew Armstrong Library, and felt it was an excellent addition for the School; in Rupert’s time at King’s the Library had been in Edgar Tower under the sharp eye of Maureen Kings, as many OVs will recall. A walk around the John Moore Theatre and the Physics labs took Rupert back to his schooldays, with some great memories of drama and classes with Hon OVs Mr Diamond, Mr Clemit, and Mr Hickson.

Having been Head of School and Captain of Boats, Rupert thought the Michael Baker Boathouse an excellent facility and was impressed in particular by the array of boats the School now has. He was heartened to hear how central rowing is to the sports curriculum these days!

Rupert is planning to attend the OV reunion in Princeton in October 2023 and hopes to see many other fellow US-based OVs there; look out for some invitations to Zoom calls over the summer, where you can connect ahead of the reunion.