Ron was born in Cheshire and attended the local grammar school. He went to Sheffield University before joining the army where he served for nearly twenty years in Royal Signals, being commissioned and eventually retiring as a major in 1978. He became involved with telecommunications, System X, and then into computing. He joined a computer consultancy and spent time with a number of companies, helping bring about the necessary organisational changes caused by the introduction and use of computers.
He tutored for the Open University on MBA courses in many locations in England and in other parts of Europe. He also tutored for the local technical college in a wide range of management subject. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998.