Adrian Grayston

BA PPE 1972
MA 1980
Company Director

Adrian is something of an educational nomad, attending three primary and two secondary schools, across four counties, before spending sixth form at Hastings Grammar. Three years in one place at Keble must have been like putting down roots, and, ever since, Adrian has been a regular visitor to College. On arrival, he attended football and hockey trials and was delighted to be selected for both first XIs, subsequently becoming captain, also playing cricket in the summer.

His studies, under the watchful eye of the late, great Paul Hayes, provided a distraction from his beloved Keble sports ground.

A proud moment came in 1974 when Adrian was selected to join a University football tour with a squad of Blues and Centaurs and the team were undefeated in their five matches.

After graduation, Adrian joined the fastest growing industry in the world—IT. Over the next 20 years, he distinguished himself as a salesman, winning many awards. When he left Unisys to start a business, he was their most successful European salesman and managed one of their largest global accounts.

The business consultancy and training company he started has traded successfully for 28 years and he has travelled the world working for Fortune 500 and FTSE100 companies.

Throughout this long period, Adrian has returned every year to play football against the College (as part of the Alumni ‘Ghosts’). In his last game, 8 October 2022, he captained his 2nd XI Ghosts side to a 6-0 win, some 50 years since he first appeared in this fixture.

After ‘retirement’ from playing, he has thrown his support behind the Warden’s Festival of Sport initiative, an event which launched with great success in 2024.

When he came to Keble, Adrian found ‘his people’ and 52 years later still meets with several team members from his College years, when not busy raising money for charity.