Ian Dunross is a fictional character in James Clavell's novel Noble House, and a minor character behind the scenes in Whirlwind.
Dunross is the 10th tai-pan of Struan's, who rose to that office in 1960 and took the company public. Prior to this, he was a lifelong Struan's employee, a son and grandson of previous tai-pans. During World War II, Dunross served as a fighter pilot until being grounded after being shot down.
In the novel Noble House, set in 1963, Dunross finds his company the target of a hostile takeover from his arch-rival Quillan Gornt at a time when it is desperately overextended. He is also embroiled in international espionage when he finds himself in possession of secret documents desperately desired by both the KGB and MI6. The novel follows Dunross' attempts to extricate himself from all this and to save Struan's, the Noble House.
Though one of many characters in the novel, Dunross is the only one involved with all the main plot line.
Noble House was made into a NBC miniseries in 1988 in which Ian Dunross was portrayed by Pierce Brosnan.
Dunross is allegedly based on the composite characters of two former Jardine Matheson taipans, Sir Hugh David MacEwen Barton and Sir Michael Herries.