agenda | November/Winter 2016 by Gallery Magazine

NOVEMBER/WINTER 2016 | NO 1 n Â£ FREE

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n www.agenda.im

AIN H C K LOC uter mp The co. maybe says ..

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n update - edito

Isle of Man

ON THE AGENDA...

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

PUBLISHER 221 Media Quay House, South Quay Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 5AR T: 01624 619540 www.agenda.im ADVERTISING T: 01624 619540 steve@agenda.im ACCOUNTS T: 01624 619540 accounts@agenda.im DESIGN STUDIO design@agenda.im GENERAL ENQUIRIES enquiries@agenda.im

INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS - ISLE OF MAN 10 Hope Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1AQ www.iod.com

Recycle Agenda recycles all its storage and packing materials, boxes and any old magazines that are returned. We don’t get that many fortunately. We love to know our readers hang on to previous copies but when they take up too much space, drop them down to the recycling bins. If you want to find out more about recycling - call: 01624 686540. Don’t forget you can view all previous issues on our website. Disclaimer All rights reserved. Any form of reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohibited without the written consent of the publisher. Any views expressed by advertisers or contributors may not be those of the publisher. Unsolicited artwork, manuscripts and copy are accepted by Agenda magazine, but the publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage. All material, copy and artwork supplied is assumed to be copyright free unless otherwise advised. Contributions for Agenda should be emailed to editorial@agenda.im. CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

WELCOME

welcome you to the first edition of IoD Agenda – a new business magazine aimed at the business leaders of the Isle of Man. As Chairman of the Isle of Man Branch of the Institute of Directors I am keen to see membership grow and diversify so that business people from all sectors, and all sizes of businesses can interconnect and learn from each other. The IoD promotes good corporate governance and provides training and development to Directors so that they can understand risk, mitigate it where they can and manage it appropriately. Networking plays an important part in this as Directors can learn from each. I hope that you enjoy reading Agenda and that you take something away from it and if you are not a member of the institute you think about the benefits of membership and join. I am writing this article after hosting Adrian Moorhouse, the Managing Director of HR Consultancy Lane 4 and a 1988 Olympic Gold Medallist at a workshop and dinner I came away with two particular messages that we, on the island should ponder! At a point in time ‘you are’ what you have done BUT Adrian believes it does not define what you could or will be. For example: I introduced him as an Olympic Gold Medallist and he went on to remind me that was 28 years ago since when he has become a proud father of four, co-founded his own company in 1995 and gone on to become the MD of a multimillion pound business trading across the world. He explained that he chose to move on from being an Olympic champion and is now so much more. The role of the leader is to create an environment that enables people to be the best they can be. Adrian explained that his primary role as MD of Lane 4 is to do exactly that. It appears he has done it with great success. As 2017 beckons the island has just elected a new government that is probably the least experienced administration we

have had for many years at a time when we face the uncertainty of Brexit and we have an economy that is, arguably, at a crossroads. The island’s history defines what we are now and we could choose to look back – define ourselves as an Olympic Gold Medallist – and stand still reflecting on past glories. We could do what Adrian has done – challenge ourselves to learn from our past, build on our strengths and challenge ourselves to be even better. Our ancestors and predecessors have done that for hundreds of years so we must do the same. To the newly elected MHK’s I would ask that they consider what their role as the political ‘leaders’ really means. I would suggest as our political leaders, as Adrian Moorhouse claims, their primary role is to create an environment on the island that will enable it’s people to be the best they can be. As Branch Chairman of the IoD I would also like to see our business leaders rise to the challenge and work together with the new Government so that, between us, we create an environment in which business can grow and ensure that the Isle of Man is the best it can be too. In my view, we can only do that if we build trust, set aside personal interest and work together sharing ideas and being bold in building a dynamic economy for the 21st century. I think that most people on the island realise and understand that we need to grow the working population as the island’s population is ageing and we need to proactively provide opportunities for local young people whilst, at the same time, attract new business to the island. The Economic Development Scheme is a great start and I am hopeful that we will soon see new businesses attracted to the island – of course, investment is a risk business and not every investment will be successful. Let us be bold - 2017 is around the corner and I hope that collectively the Isle of Man rises to the challenges ahead of us so that future generations can look back on us in the same way that we look back at the generations that adapted and re-invented themselves to get us to where we are today.

Clive Parrish chairman@iod.im

n CONTENTS WELCOME

UPDATE

8 10 14 16 18 20 23 24 26 28

NEWS APPOINTMENTS

36 OPINION

YOUR INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS - ISLE OF MAN

30 34 36 40 46

INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS MEMBER INTERVIEW IOD WELCOMED ADRIAN MOORHOUSE TO ISLAND I’M A FACILITATOR NOT A CONTROL FREAK EVENTS DIARY COFFEE TIME BEATS THE DAILY GRIND AN ALGORITHM FOR GETTING THROUGH YOUR TO DO LIST BUSINESS BOOKS

ABSOLUTE SCAFFOLDING LTD APPRENTICE WATCHMAKERS MARGARET SIMPSON HOSPICE ISLE OF MAN RELATIVE VALUES PHIL & NIGEL TAYLOR DISICPLE OF RENEWBLE

SPECIAL REPORTS

50 52 30 54 56

BLOCKCHAIN CAN CREATE FINANCIAL SECTOR JOBS AS WELL AS KILL THEM DIGITAL LEDGER SERVICES, KPMG’S BLOCKCHAIN FOR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LIKELY TO CAUSE HUGE DISRUPTION ROBO ADVICE - COMPUTER SAYS MAYBE

ENTREPRENEUR

58 60 62 6

VANNIN VENTURES INCUBATOR FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY OLDER ENTREPRENEURS PASS ‘PINT OF BEER’ TEST SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS NO BARRIER FOR BILLIONAIRES ON THE AGENDA...

n update news

ISLE OF MAN POST OFFICE BECOMES PROJECT PARTNER OF UNESCO BIOSPHERE ISLE OF MAN

sle of Man Post Office is delighted to announce it has successfully become an official project partner of UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man. Earlier this year Isle of Man’s unique environment and culture was recognised with the award of UNESCO Biosphere status. This project is all about balancing a vibrant community, healthy environment and resilient economy. The Isle of Man was the first entire Island Nation in the world to receive biosphere status and the award was a tribute to those groups and individuals dedicated to ecological and community development work being carried out across the Island. Following this accolade, the Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) was provided with the opportunity to apply to become a project partner. As part of its own nomination, IOMPO had to demonstrate its alignment with the UNESCO pledges from protecting the Island’s natural resources, developing the economy in a sustainable way, supporting and promoting local cultural heritage, making a positive impact environmentally on the Island and engaging with the local community. There were many ways in which IOMPO was able to fulfil the criteria from using forestry stewardship council and recycled paper across the business, supporting the Manx economy as a global business and one of the Island’s largest employers, its sponsorship of a number of local clubs, organisations and charities, its energy efficient properties, its engagement with every household on a daily basis to promoting Manx culture on a world stage through its varied stamp issues, to name but a few. IOMPO’s project partner status couldn’t come at a more apt time as it’s recently launched its Europa stamp issue for 2016 under the theme ‘Ecology in Europe – Think Green.’ The new stamps feature TT Zero, the Energy from Waste plant, a motif to create a greener planet, the Island’s efforts to invest in renewable energy and of course to celebrate the Island’s UNESCO Biosphere status. www.biosphere.im/index.php

NEDBANK PRIVATE WEALTH RECOGNISED FOR UK AND INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE

edbank Private Wealth has received two accolades at the 2016 International Investment International Fund and Product Awards, with awards for Best International Wealth Management Provider (UK) and Best International Private Banking Service (non-UK). The bank has now accumulated 27 awards in a 16-year unbroken record of winning achievements at these prestigious industry awards. The results, which were assessed by an independent team of experts, were announced recently and saw the bank recognised in these two categories. The Best International Wealth Management Provider award was open to financial advisers, banks and wealth management boutiques providing wealth management services to UK clients. In judging, the panel took into account growth of the business, level of service, support to target markets, technology and recent product enhancements. The Best International Private Banking Service award was open to banks that provide services to expatriates.

In judging, the panel took into account the range of current, deposit and savings products available, minimum entry levels, currencies options, and other related financial services. Now in their 17th year, the International Investment International Fund and Product Awards are in honour and recognition of groups who are at the cutting edge of distributing financial products and services internationally. Greg Horton, managing director at Nedbank Private Wealth, said: “I am delighted we have been recognised at these awards for a 16th consecutive year as it provides such a sound independent endorsement of our team’s consistency and ongoing commitment to our clients and our business. To be recognised as the best provider for both UK and non-UK clients unquestionably reaffirms our position as one of the leading integrated banking and wealth management businesses, both domestically and abroad.” ON THE AGENDA...

‘Data Protection, Brexit and the Isle of Man’

eter Cannell and Steven Coren, Advocates at Quinn Legal, gave the latest presentation for ICSA’s Isle of Man branch at the Claremont Hotel, Douglas last month. The event, sponsored by Quinn Legal, covered ‘Data Protection, Brexit and the Isle of Man’. The event gave an idea of what the future may hold in light of Brexit, an overview of the Isle of Man’s current data protection position, and a discussion of how the proposed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will likely affect local organisations.

Peter said of the talk: “Data protection, in particular, is an important topic for every individual on the island and we are grateful to the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators for the opportunity to discuss the topic. Attendance was high on Wednesday and the talk was received very well.’ Steven commented: “Brexit is raising a host of issues around the Isle of Man’s constitutional law position. This was a great opportunity to review where the Island is now, and where it might be going, in legal

Intelligent and insightful offshore legal advice and services. Delivered with perspective. CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

and constitutional terms.” Christine Clucas, ICSA Isle of Man Branch Chair: “Peter and Steven’s topical and informative presentation was very much welcomed by members. We would like to also thank Quinn Legal for their sponsorship of the event, one of a series of CPD events for ICSA members and guests throughout the year.” For details of future events please contact icsa@manx.net www.icsaiom.org

applebyglobal.com 9

n update Appointments

KPMG announces

seven promotions within the Isle of Man practice KPMG has marked the end of another successful financial year with the announcement of a number of promotions in the Isle of Man business.

ON THE AGENDA...

ne of the four members of the Audit team who have been promoted to Manager, Zibusiso Dube joined KPMG Isle of Man in December 2014. He had previously worked at the KPMG South Africa practice where he gained experience auditing JSE and NYSE listed entities, operating in the energy and natural resources sector, reporting under US GAAP, Sarbanes-Oxley and IFRS. Zibusiso’s Isle of Man audit client portfolio includes AIM listed and unlisted entities, operating in the investment management, telecommunications and corporate services sectors reporting under IFRS and New UK GAAP. He also has significant experience reviewing equity, life of mine and environmental liability valuations and recently completed his CFA Level 3. Tim Fairclough, who also becomes Manager, joined KPMG Isle of Man in 2011 and has been working in an Assistant Manager role for the past year. Dealing primarily in the financial services sector, with a particular focus on the Life Insurance

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

industry in the Isle of Man, Ireland and the UK, Tim has helped a number of clients who are subject to Isle of Man or UK regulatory reporting and has specialised in audit preparations for the Solvency II reporting framework. Tim also has a diverse portfolio of clients in other industries including manufacturing and retail, and has undertaken work for Advisory on vendor due diligence. Jonathon Knowles also joined KPMG Isle of Man in 2011, fully qualifying as a chartered accountant in September 2014. He has worked on a wide range of entities, and has significant experience in the gaming sector and property companies as well as assisting with advisory engagements. As Manager his portfolio will include pensions, corporate service providers and trading entities. The fourth team member to be promoted to Manager, Noel Ronald, qualified as a chartered accountant in 2006, becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Zimbabwe in 2008. He is responsible for a diverse portfolio of clients covering insurance

companies, investment funds including entities listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange, and investment management companies. Noel has built a strong knowledge base of IFRS and UK GAAP. Stepping up to IT Advisory Manager is Dan Kniveton. Dan has been with KPMG for six years and during that time, he attained the ACA qualification working in Audit for a variety of clients and went on to become an IT Trained Auditor, achieving Reviewer level by the end of his training period. Based across both Audit and Advisory, Dan has performed IT and migration controls work for audit engagements as well as undertaking data analysis for eGaming audits. He has completed a number of Advisory pieces such as ISAE 3402 and IT Security Reports required for remote gaming licenses in the UK. Lawrence Hanlin has been promoted to Regulatory Manager in the Advisory department. Before joining KPMG in 2014 as Risk Consulting Supervisor, Lawrence previously worked in managerial roles within the banking industry at RBSI and Coutts UK. Working both offshore and globally, he gained significant experience in risk related topics and developed a good understanding of how to protect customers. Lawrence is also a member of the International Compliance Association. Finally Chris Shimmin becomes Senior Manager Audit after three years as Manager in the team. Chris joined KPMG in 2011, having previously studied at another big four audit firm on the Isle of Man and has specialised in working with e-Gaming businesses. He has also been involved with a number of other industries such as banking, private equity, property investments and telecommunications, including a number of AIM listed entities and has worked alongside the Advisory practice including IPOs and vendor due diligence. Commenting on the appointments, Mike Fayle, Managing Director of KPMG, said: “We are very proud of how we help to develop our people at KPMG. It is rewarding and encouraging to see so many of them take the opportunity to improve the breadth and depth of their skills. “By building on existing experience and progressing our people through the business, we ensure both our colleagues and our clients continue to benefit from the remarkable level of international expertise and knowledge within the practice. “I wish all our newly-promoted employees the very best in their latest roles.”

n update Appointments

Gough advocate qualifies as solicitor in England and Wales

ictoria Murphy, newly appointed Advocate at Gough Law, has successfully passed the Qualified Lawyer Transfer Scheme assessments that she sat in London earlier this year. She has now applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for admission to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales. Victoria will then become dual-qualified as she has already

Estera Director Gary O’Connor has been shortlisted for a prestigious Future Leaders Award

ary, who is based in the Isle of Man, features in the Trustee of the Year – Institutional category of the Citywealthorganised awards, which aim to champion young professionals in the wealth sector and highlight current and future business leaders aged under 40. The shortlist was drawn up by a panel of judges from the private wealth management industry and a public vote is now under way. The result of the vote, which closes on 20 October, will be taken into account by the judges as they determine the winners of the 18 categories. The results were announced at a presentation on 10 November. Gary said: ‘I am honoured to have been shortlisted alongside some of the most highly respected young professionals in the wealth management sector. Not only do I take great pride in being considered

been commissioned as a Manx Advocate. Congratulating her on the achievement, Alan Gough, Founding Partner at Gough Law, said: “Victoria has worked very hard and we commend her achievements. After settling in well with the team at Gough Law, she will no doubt use her latest qualifications to the benefit of our clients while she further develops her role in the practice.” for Citywealth’s Future Leaders Awards, I also consider it a recognition of Estera’s standing in the industry, highlighting the breadth of experience and expertise the business offers clients and the high standards of service we deliver in the Isle of Man and internationally.’ During his 20 years of experience, Gary has played an instrumental role in a number of major mergers and acquisitions. Following the management buyout of the Appleby group’s fiduciary business, which completed in December, Gary was promoted to Client Director and Director of Estera Fund Services (Isle of Man) Limited. Since then he has been central to developing the brand as an independent fiduciary business, with involvement in both internal communications and client relationship management. Gary is responsible for the financial and operational management of Estera Trust (Isle of Man) Limited and its client accounting division. His role also includes close involvement in the administration and orderly wind-down of licensed banking corporations and investment fund portfolios. Isle of Man-based Estera Group Director Sean Dowling said: ‘The Citywealth Future Leaders Awards are an industry-recognised acknowledgement of outstanding young wealth management professionals. Gary has exceptional expertise and has played a pivotal role in establishing Estera as a leading name in the sector, and he fully deserves to have been included in this prestigious shortlist.’ ON THE AGENDA...

Boston announces seven promotions as part of growth strategy

oston Multi Family Office has announced seven promotions in the Isle of Man as a response to the growing demands placed upon the business by its strong international growth. Within the Group Business Development Team, Rachael Kelly has been promoted to Manager, recognising her key role in coordinating the sales and onboarding function across the group’s international offices. Rachael joined the business in 2014, bringing with her several years of experience with Manx CSPs, and has been instrumental in the significant growth Boston has experienced since that time. Andrew Mellor, Frank Douthwaite, and Roxanne Sheeley have been appointed as Assistant-Managers within the Fiduciary Administration Team, whilst Larisa Williams has been promoted to Senior Administrator and Alisha Quinn to Administrator. Fiduciary Director Alex CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

McNee explained, “This is in recognition of their continued commitment and hard work in not only servicing our clients but also their support to their Managers and the wider business over the last year. Each of them has worked hard and demonstrated the qualities we value at Boston: integrity, client-focus, intelligence, and passion. I look forward to seeing what they can achieve in the future, with the continued support of their mentors and the challenges of their new positions.” Finally, Sam Egan has been elevated to Assistant Manager within the business’ Accounts Team. Prior to his time at Boston Sam had developed several years of experience working on the accounts of ultra-high net worth individuals, later joining Boston in 2009 as a Trainee Client Accountant. Studying through the business, he gained his ACCA qualification in 2015 and has quickly risen to a managerial

position on the basis of his hard work and strong interpersonal skills. Group CEO Alex Fray explained the context behind the promotions: “As the business has grown into new jurisdictions and realised the benefits of our diversification strategy, our core staff has had to adapt quickly and intelligently. We’ve put in place a rigorous development scheme to support them and the results can be seen here with the announcement of these promotions, each of which is thoroughly well deserved. At every level of the business, from junior to senior, I’ve been incredibly impressed and I am immensely grateful for the way our staff have responded to the various opportunities and challenges our changing marketplace has presented to them. These individuals have been at the forefront of that and I am very pleased to see them furthering their careers with us.”

n update YOUR institute of directors

The Institute of Directors Isle of Man

CLIVE PARRISH

Chairman Institue of Directors - Isle of Man

he IoD is a business organisation founded by Royal Charter in 1903, currently with 40,000 members worldwide and over 270 members in the Isle of Man branch. The Island also has many Directors completing the prestigious Certificate and Diploma courses run by Salford University on behalf of the IoD at the Isle of Man Business School, and the Isle of Man Branch is delighted to have at present 17 Chartered Directors as its members, one of the highest concentrations in the IoD. The IoD offers something to suit every professional’s busy schedules, quarterly breakfast meetings or evening seminars with high profile guest speakers, bimonthly informal Ladies Lunches, Dining Club, Formal Lunches and one to three day educational/mentoring courses including “Women as Highly Effective Directors” and “Directing a Successful Small Business”. Led by branch chair Clive Parrish, the Isle of Man branch is composed of more than 300 directors and senior decision makers. With the help of a volunteer committee and executive officer Claire Veale, the branch supports local members and organises inspirational and valuable business events in the area. A key role for the Isle of Man branch is to provide local directors with opportunities to meet other business leaders informally and share their experiences through a range of different types of events, such as the bi-monthly breakfast briefings, networking events and visits to local places of interest. The branch also has a role as a conduit to government on issues affecting local members, and strives to represent them on appropriate matters. www.iod.com

ON THE AGENDA...

MEET YOUR COMMITTEE

CLAIRE VEALE

SUE PRESKEY

(Executive Officer)

(Secretary) Managing Director Duncan Lawrie Private Bank

JENNIFER HOUGHTON Managing Director/CEO

CLAIRE MILNE

PAUL MCAULEY Treasurer Lloyds Bank International Limited

Isle of Man Member Benefits QUICK LOOK n Discounted entry to

Rendezvous Lounge and Speedy Park at the IOM Airport

Annexio

Partner Appleby

JOHN D HUNTER

UK Manager Department of Economic Development

n Discounted VIP

Business Travel and Airport Transfers with K&B Carriage

n Discounts on Leisure

and Business Travel with Richmond Travel and MannLink Travel

n Discounts on selected

training courses with TLC

FINDLAY MACLEOD Managing Director Isle of man Creamery Ltd

PETER REID

Island Director & Head of Banking Lloyds Bank International

MARGARET SIMPSON Chief Executive Hospice Isle of Man

Additional Benefits for all members

n Access to our local HQ

and Business Hub and locations throughout the UK

n IoD Car Rental,

provided by Hertz www. iod.com/carrental For all benefits www.iod.com/ home/membership/ membership-benefits/ default.aspx

ALICE MARTIN

Chief Operating Officer Isle of Man Government (Attorney General’s Chamber)

MARK WATERHOUSE

Board Member Isle of Man Financial Services Authority

DEB BRYON Director of IT Hansard

Institute of Directors Isle of Man www.iod.com/eventscommunity/regions/isleof-man

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

DAWN WEBB

Managing Director Dawn Webb Advisory Limited

SALLY BOLTON Director Corlett Bolton & Co

n update yOUR Institue of Directors

Entrepreneur Derek

is a Man With No Regrets at Going it Alone 12 Weeks Ago Words: Les Able Photo: Matt Mosur

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Launching my own business has given me a hunger and buzz, something I have not experienced for a long time, even though you become the hardest working and lowest paid person in the companyâ&#x20AC;?

ON THE AGENDA...

update yOUR Institue of Directors member interview

ntrepreneur Derek Clarkson is a happy man despite a working day that often begins at 6.00am and finishes at midnight but since taking that mighty step of launching his own company on August 1 this year there has been no reason for any regrets. His all-encompassing CCJ Group Limited provides ‘total contract project management’ for clients on a consultancy/ contractor basis with the facility for the client to have hands on involvement in any given project, backed by CCJ’s expertise without the client employing staff directly to do/manage the work. “We are a personal investment vehicle, a fully insured and registered business with the expertise in place to support the delivery of services which stretch from site engineering services to safety management services, including emergency response services and building renovation works,” says Derek, 37, founding director of the Onchan-based business. So successful is the company that in the space of twelve weeks he has a staff of eight people working for him and four vans displaying CCJ livery. “Launching my own business has given me a hunger and buzz, something I have not experienced for a long time, even though you become the hardest working and lowest paid person in the company,” says Derek with a grin. “There are those who say you are your own boss so you can take a day off when you want to, you can flash a Gold Card about etc but those are the things you just don’t do.” He goes on: “Instead, I invest in what is my company to make a real go of it, there needs to be 100 per cent commitment in driving the business forward to achieve long-term gain. I’m in the office at around 6 in the morning and yes it can be midnight when I get to bed. I feel now that while I may be seen as an entrepreneur I have also developed into a business man. I really enjoy it.” The decision to take the risk and go out on his own came about more by accident than design. Derek had been offered several jobs in New Zealand and he and his wife Janet, along with their two young sons, were looking forward to a life on the other side of the world. “I couldn’t get the right package for my family so New Zealand just didn’t happen, it was then we decided to give it a go by launching a business on the island. There were some investors who were interested in helping me do just that but we finally decided to go it alone and I ploughed all my savings into it.” “What has been humbling is the support I’ve been given by local businesses on the island who know me from the time I was projects director at JCK Ltd. The island is a fantastic place with certain people who

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“Launching my own business has given me a hunger and buzz”

pull together and I’ve been overwhelmed by that.” Derek, a proud Scot but with firm Manx roots, has been in the industry he loves for 18 years, having graduated from Caledonian University in Glasgow with a BSc in civil engineering and has a host of other professional qualifications. His role with Morrison International, then working on the natural gas pipeline on the island, was what brought him to the island in 2002. Prior to that, his work had been internationally, including a contract management role in the Falkland Islands for more than two years. “I have lots of good memories from there,” says Derek, who joined CK in 2004 where he was working on contracts in excess of £6m. “It was at JCK that I started the civil engineering side of the business and in 2010 I was made projects director but then in 2016 decided to move on. I still have a good relationship with JCK, it’s always important to exit the right way and I gave them nine months’ notice and continue to assist on a consultancy basis for certain schemes.” Derek is also a staunch member of the Douglas branch of the Institute of Directors. “The construction industry is a legislation driven health and safety minefield; in this industry you need to fulfil many roles and wear many hats and I decided that I needed to be fully aware of my duties as a director from a company management perspective. The IoD has done that for me with its regular briefings and seminars, it’s been very valuable.” He added: “The IoD also offer good services when travelling to UK offices in major cities which you can use as a base for meetings, and here in the island the IoD has an excellent group of like-minded people who always offer help and advice so I intend to be a member going forward.” Interview over and Derek was into his van and heading to the south of the island for a client meeting.. “All in all, life is good,” he declared.

n update yOUR institute of directors

events

Clive Parrish & Adrain Moorhouse

IoD welcomed Adrian “I Moorhouse to Island The Institute of Directors (“IoD”) Isle of Man branch welcomed Adrian Moorhouse to the Island on Thursday 29th September.

t was great to bring someone like Adrian over to the Isle of Man”, commented Clive Parrish, Chairman of the IoD Isle of Man Branch. “Adrian has been over to the Island a couple of times now but it was great to hear his insight on so many things ranging from leadership in business and taking ownership of performance in sport” Adrian Moorhouse MBE is a former GB International swimmer who dominated World Breasstroke swimming in the late 80’s. Building on his experience in the pool, Adrian has translated his sporting success to a successful career in the business world, as managing director of Lane 4, a multimillion pound consultancy which helps, amongst other things, individuals and teams around to reach their full potential. In the afternoon, Adrian led a workshop for business leaders covering “The Role of the Leader in Creating an Engaging Performance Culture” which explored cultural change, performance management and employee engagement. He led a second workshop for Barclays, who sponsored Adrian’s trip, which looked at the Barclays organisation specifically. The primary reason for Adrian’s visit to the Island was to speak at the IoD’s Autumn Dinner to talk about his experiences as both a businessman and an athlete. On the evening there was a raffle to raise funds for the Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association - guests raised almost £1,600 which Barclays matched pound for pound, raising a total amount of £3,200. Stuart Nelson, director at Barclays in the Isle of Man, said: “Barclays was pleased to sponsor the IoD Isle of Man Autumn Dinner again this year. Adrian Moorhouse gave a very inspiring talk about the connection between sport and business and his experience of transforming his sporting achievements to a successful career in business. In his current role as MD of Lane 4, he sees himself as a coach to his employees and his aim is to ensure that they think their job is the best job they’ve ever had; which is a fascinating mission statement.” To find out more about the IoD events, please contact Claire Veale at: admin@iod.co.im.

ON THE AGENDA...

Institute of Directors

@ Bar George Date: 30th November 2016 Time: 6.30pm for 7.15pm Ticket: ÂŁ20 inc of VAT We would be delighted if you would join us for our Christmas Drinks at Bar George for a wine tasting evening in aid of Hospice Isle of Man. Ticket Price Includes: A Glass of Bubbly on Arrival, Wine Tasting with 8 Different wines and a Raffle.

Please email: Claire Veale at admin@iod.im to purchase a ticket or table for this event. All of the proceeds of this event will be donated to hospice Isle of Man.

in Support of

If you are able to donate a raffle prize please contact Margaret Simpson at: margaretsimpson@hospice.org.im

Institute of Directors Isle of Man, No 10 Hope Street, Douglas, IM1 1AQ Tel: 07624 355160

@IoD_IOM

IoD Isle of Man

www.iod.com

n update yOUR Institute of directors

“I’m a Facilitator Not a Control Freak” Says Olympic Gold Medallist Adrian Moorhouse Who Now Heads an International Business Consultancy Words Les Able Photos: Matt Mosur

ON THE AGENDA...

expert interview

n the late 1980s Adrian Moorhouse MBE was something of a household name and sex symbol. He dominated British swimming and won the Gold Medal in the 100 metres breast stroke at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. At the age of 28 he retired from competitive swimming, became a member of the Olympic Committee and head of talent development with the British Swimming Association. A few years later his whole career path was to change when, with leading performance psychologist Prof Graham Jones and business executive Adrian Hutchinson, he co-founded a business to help organisations and individuals develop the people skills necessary to become winners in their particular marketplace or sector. The name chosen for it was Lane4 the lane which in swimming is traditionally set aside for the fastest heat swimmer. Today Adrian, a fit and engaging 52 with boundless enthusiasm, is managing director of the award winning consultancy. It has more than 120 employees and over 200 people in its associate network, with experts in the three interlocking areas, IE business, psychology and elite sport. Blue chip clients include names such as Jaguar Land Rover. “We work with leaders to become greater leaders in their organisation,” says Adrian. “I’m a facilitator, not a control freak. I can and do recognise people out there with special skills, I bring them together and take a punt. “My life goes in four year strategies as it did when I was a swimmer with four year strategies from one Olympics to the next. When I started the company I wanted it to have that same feeling and atmosphere of an Olympic squad. As a swimmer it was all about me, so you become self-centred but I lost all that after winning the Olympics. I enjoy working with other people, I love being in meetings with a board of directors so yes, I consider myself to be a team player.” Adrian, who passed the 11-plus and went to Bradford Grammar School, adds: “My father has been a role model for me, having started on the shop floor of a wool factory in Bradford, he eventually became a company director and was well

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n update yOUR IoD expert interview

“I’m a fan of apprenticeships and vocational training”

into middle age when he left that to set his own business up. As teenagers my brother and I were involved in the world of commerce he created in our home. I followed his work ethic which is ‘you get out what you put in’. He wouldn’t wait for something to happen, he would set about doing it himself and that is my philosophy.” In his early days in business Adrian admits the description of ‘entrepreneur’ might have applied but says he has never seen himself as a serial entrepreneur. “Entrepreneurial yes,” he declares. “Money has never been the overriding motivation in my life and I would say that I’m now very definitely more altruistic. But I still get that burning sensation inside me that wants to win pitches and awards.” The father of four children, three girls and a boy ranging in age from six-yearsold to 10 with 18 months between each, are the key factor in his life. “My aim is to be a great father and while I’m very focused on work I see more of my kids than some of my friends do. We have a fantastic relationship,” says Adrian, having only just returned from a two weeks Camper van holiday with them in Cornwall. He believes that young people, once having achieved their A-levels, should think carefully as to whether university is the right choice for them and if and why they should study for a degree over the next three or four years. “I’m a fan of apprenticeships and vocational training,” he says. “What I want to see is application, hunger to learn, willing to work hard and take responsibility. The interview process at Lane4 is to get applicants to tell their story and what has brought them to us and what they want to achieve.” He has much praise for the director courses which come under the umbrella of membership of the Institute of Directors. “It is through the IoD and BusinessLink that I learned to be a businessman and the role of a company director so when I was in my 30’s the IoD was a big part of my life.” His advice to those starting up in business is: “Understand your market and work out the best way to let people know what you are offering and why somebody would want to buy your product. It’s crucial to get the price right; I’ve seen many people with great ideas but have got the pricing wrong. I’m also a great fan of mentoring, a sounding board is always good.” Adrian is still a swimming commentator for BBC television and covered the Rio Olympics but does he still swim? “Not regularly, I do some lake swimming but not in a pool, also some running, as I believe the fitter I am the better I am to do my job.” What about the future? “I’m now embarking on my next four year strategy which takes us to 2020 and the next Olympics,” he declares with a grin. ON THE AGENDA...

n update EVENTs diary

Future Growth and Development of Isle of Man BioMed Celtic Media Festival 2017 03 MAY 2017

Villa Marina The Isle of Man will be hosting the 2017 Celtic Media Festival, an annual 3 day event that promotes the languages and cultures of the Celtic Nations and Regions in media. It combines a major conference of seminars and master classes with presentation of coveted prizes in an international competition across all the main content genres in TV, radio, film and digital media, and will be concentrated to the Villa Marina Gaiety Theatre complex.

2017 will be the first year the Island hosts the Festival with over 500 people expected to enjoy a packed festival programme that celebrates the influential media industry of the Celtic nations and regions, as well as providing networking opportunities for delegates and speakers alike. For more information visit: www.celticmediafestival.co.uk Full details of the festival programme, delegate registration, and how to purchase tickets, will be announced early next year.

Institue of directors - Isle of Man, Challenges for the IOM on Growth 23 NOV 2016

abacus, douglas Isle of Man Branch CPD seminar with Kevin Loundes, Associate Director at Abacus. Kevin will deliver a presentation covering the following topics: n Non-dom

changes and how this will impact the CSP industry. n Changes to the tax treatment of residential property and how this may impact on IOM industry. n Tightening of rules on tax planning/ tax avoidance and how this may impact the IOM generally. n Tax issues on relocation of business to the IOM and how this may impact the spark fund project. n Brexit and how it may impact on the IOM from a tax perspective. Speaker Kevin Loundes has over 10 years’ experience in advising offshore clients, with particular regard to residence, domicile and the use of offshore trusts and companies for tax–efficient planning. Kevin began his

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career training as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte before moving to KPMG to specialise in Tax where he qualified as a Chartered Tax Advisor. He has a wealth of experience in the provision of international and UK tax advice having advised a wide range of clients including offshore funds, property structures, trustees of offshore trusts and high net worth individuals. Kevin is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and a member of the Chartered Institute of Tax. No Charge. (Note: This event is for IoD Members.) Email: events@iod.im Contact phone: 07624 355160 Spaces are limited so early booking is recommended.

30TH NOVEMBER 2016

Manx Museum

The next ManxBioMed meeting, organised by Manx Business Connection, will take place on Wednesday 30th November 2016. A vibrant BioMed Cluster will help improve patient outcomes, maximise the Isle of Man’s opportunities to create jobs and contribute to the continued growth of the Island’s economy. At this event we look at strategies needed to achieve this. The day will combine presentations with discussions on key areas of interest to both Island businesses and visitors. Guests can come and go throughout the day in order to attend those sessions that interest them and maximise networking opportunities. Morning sessions will take a closer look at a developing biomed strategy and consider what changes could be made to ensure the Island is an attractive environment for biomed companies. Afternoon sessions provide an opportunity to meet visitors to the Island and those companies that can assist them in their biomed ventures. www.mbc.co.im

fusion

23 MARCH 2017

The Claremont hotel An all-day Conference on the 23rd March at The Claremont Hotel, Douglas, Isle of Man. For more details visit: www.mtg.im Organised and managed by Manx Business Connection, part of the Manx Technology Group.

n update feature

Coffee time beats the daily grind C Ditching the office for a cafĂŠ can be good for your soul and even better for your productivity. You just need to persuade the boss.

Words by:Â Chris Ward (FT)

offee shops have been the birthplace of political revolutions, artistic movements and Harry Potter. Moshi Monsters were created in them, Barack Obama wrote his first presidential speech in one and websites including Craigslist and Foursquare.com were built in them. These days, millions of British employees spend much of their working week in coffee shops and look like they are having far more fun than their desk-bound colleagues. So how do you join them and escape the relative gloom of office-based employment? Question long-held beliefs You need a different attitude to thrive outside the safe confines of the traditional work environment. There are four beliefs that keep most people trapped in the rat

ON THE AGENDA...

Business leader sandwiches “People who are ‘in the flow’ are focused and absorbed in their activities”

race. Question these and you can begin to hatch your escape plan. n Do you really need to sit at the same desk for 40 hours every week to achieve your best work and progress in your career? n Could you work at different times and in different locations that would enable you to do other things in life? n Do you really need to keep earning more and more to buy more and more “stuff” or could working away from an office buy you the greater asset of time? n Are you living too far inside your comfort zone? If you think there might be more to life, you will have to go and get it because it will not come to you. n What would you do if you had enough time to do what you really wanted? For inspiration, think back to dreams you had when you were growing up. That should provide ideas for leisure pursuits to fill your extra time. Get your boss on board Once you have persuaded yourself, you need to persuade your boss. To do so, arm yourself with success stories, such as Mind Candy, Foursquare, Instagram and Craigslist, and with plenty of data. In the UK, says the OECD, 60 per cent of new companies start up without an office and collectively turn over £284bn. Britain alone has 3.6m flexible mobile CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

workers, according to Vodafone; that is four times the 0.9m people working outside a traditional office in 1997. Instead of your request setting a bad example, argue that to allow remote working shows employees a greater degree of trust, which is a good way to achieve loyalty and higher productivity. And having people work from anywhere would enable the organisation to recruit beyond commutable distance. If you get some traction, but still face a degree of resistance, suggest a trial period and together set measurable targets with a shorter timeframe for hitting them than if you were to work from your office (more on why this is possible below). Finally, promise that you will not disappear and become just a name at the end of an email. Reassure your boss that you will phone fellow workers, answer their calls and get together with them periodically so they can hear you talk, laugh and explain your crazy requests and ideas. Make the most of it Now that you have managed to break free from your desk job, there are ways you can get great work done in that short timeframe you promised. When you are working well, feeling vibrant, having good ideas, producing a great piece of work without interruptions and in less time than usual, you are “in the flow”. People who are in the flow are focused and absorbed in their activities. Some people experience this for minutes, some for hours, some for days at a time. People working while in a state of flow, says a telecoms report on remote working, can finish tasks in about half the time needed in the office. The trick is to stop working as soon as you realise you are not in the flow any more. Clear your mind and do something quite different: pick up the children from school and have fun.

Slice the competition... with avocado and tomato. The healthy fats in avocados can reduce the risk of heart disease and boost the energy you need to keep on fighting, while the lycopene in tomatoes can help prevent some cancers.

Rise to the occasion... before that big presentation with pastrami on rye. Pastrami is packed with protein and high in sodium nitrate, which aids muscle recovery. Rye has a lower GI than some other bread and should help keep energy levels constant.

Keep the good times rolling... with tuna. The health benefits of tuna include guarding against strokes, plus lowering blood pressure and ‘bad’ cholesterol. It’s also packed with beneficial B vitamins. Vacancy at the top? Not likely.

Bloom-er in the boardroom... with chicken on white. Hitting the gym before a board meeting will have you firing on all cylinders. Protein rich chicken in white slice post workout will help your muscles recover and rebuild.

n update feature

An algorithm for getting through your to-do list â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We all have days of switching focus from one task to another but never actually doing anything. Can we borrow a solution from computers?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Words: Tim Harford | Illustration 221 Media

ON THE AGENDA...

an computer scientists — the people who think about the foundations of computing and programming — help us to solve human problems such as having too many things to do, and not enough time in which to do them? That’s the premise of Algorithms to Live By, a book by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths. It’s an appealing idea to any economist. We tend to think of everyday decisions as a branch of applied mathematics, which is what computer science is. To be clear, using computer science is not the same as using computers. Computer scientists have devoted decades to problems such as sorting information, setting priorities and networking. Many of the algorithms they have developed for computers can also work for human beings. An algorithm, after all, is not a computer program. It’s a structured procedure, a kind of recipe. (Algorithms are named after a 9th-century Persian mathematician, AlKhwārizmī, but they predate his work by thousands of years.) So, what is the optimal recipe for working through the to-do list? Perhaps it is simpler than you think: do all the jobs on the list in any order, as it will take the same amount of time in the end. There is a touch of brilliance in this advice but it also seems to show that computer science will never shed light on the stress and wheel-spinning that we feel when we have too much to do. Or so I thought. Then I read a 1970 paper by the computer scientist Peter Denning, which describes a problem that computers can have when multitasking. Most computers do not literally multitask; instead, like humans, they switch rapidly between one thing and another. A computer will flit between updating your screen with a Pokémon, downloading more videos from the internet, and checking to see if you have clicked the keyboard or moved the mouse, among many other processes. But even a computer cannot do an unlimited number of tasks and, at a certain point, disaster can strike. The problem stems from the use of readily accessible “caches” to store data. To understand caches, imagine a pianist playing from two or three sheets of music in front of her. Those sheets are in the fastest cache. There are other sheets behind them, accessible in a few moments. Then there are larger but slower caches: music in the piano stool; more up in the attic, and yet more in a music shop. There is a trade-off between the volume of information and the speed with

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“The most straight forward solution is to get a bigger cache”

which it can be accessed. This set-up is no problem if the pianist only plays one complete piece at a time. But if she is asked to switch every minute or so, then some of her time will be taken retrieving a piece of music from the piano stool. If she must change every few seconds, then she will be unable to play a note; all her time will be taken switching sheet music between the stand and the piano stool. It is the same with a computer cache: there will be a hierarchy — from super-fast memory in the microprocessor itself all the way down to a hard drive (slow) and offsite back-up (very slow). To speed things up, the computer will copy the data it needs for the current task into a fast cache. If the tasks need to be switched too often, the machine will spend all its time copying data for one task into the cache, only to switch tasks, wipe the cache and fill it with something new. At the limit, nothing will ever be achieved. Denning described this regrettable state of affairs as “thrashing”. We’ve all had days filled with nothing but thrashing, constantly switching focus from one task to another but never actually doing anything. Can we borrow a solution from the computers? The most straightforward solution is to get a bigger cache; that is easier for a computer than for a human, alas. The obvious alternative is to switch tasks less often. Computers practice “interrupt coalescing”, or lumping little tasks together. A shopping list helps prevent unnecessary return trips to the shop. You can put your bills in a pile and deal with them once a month. But we often find it difficult not to flit from one task to another. Computer science says there’s a reason for the pain: there is a trade-off between being swiftly responsive and marking out chunks of time to be productive. If you want to respond to your boss’s emails within five minutes, you must check email at least once every five minutes. If you want to go off-grid for a week to work on your novel, your response time must slow to a week. Any solution should acknowledge that trade-off. Decide on an acceptable response time and interrupt yourself accordingly. If you think it’s perfectly fine to answer emails within four hours — fine by most standards — then you only need to check your email once every four hours, not once every four minutes. As Christian and Griffiths advise, decide how responsive you want to be. If you want to get things done, be no more responsive than that.

n update business reads

Age of Discovery By: Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna Categories: Globalisation, Growth Markets, History £18.99

As Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna explain in the engaging Age of Discovery, this is not the first time globalisation has divided societies, nor is it the first time technological change has unleashed income inequality, social tension, xenophobia and ideological extremism. Age of Discovery explores a world on the brink of a new Renaissance and asks: How do we share more widely the benefits of unprecedented progress? How do we endure the inevitable tumult generated by accelerating change? How do we each thrive through this tangled, uncertain time? From gains in health, education, wealth and technology, to crises of conflict, disease and mass migration, the similarities

between today’s world and that of the fifteenth century are both striking and prophetic: we have been here before. So what must we do to achieve our full potential, individually and altogether, this time around? Will we repeat the glories of the Renaissance, the misery, or both? In Age of Discovery, Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna show how we can draw courage, wisdom and inspiration from the days of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci in order to fashion our own Golden Age. Whether we’re seized by Gutenberg or Zuckerberg, the discovery of the Americas or the rise of China, copperplate etchings or silicon chips, the Bonfire of the Vanities or the destructive fury of ISIS, the spread of syphilis or the Ebola pandemic, such Renaissance moments force humanity to give its best just when the stakes are at their highest.

Business Chaos Monkeys By: Antonio Garcia Martinez Categories: Entrepreneurship, Technology & Innovation, Workplace £17.38

Antonio García Martínez had all the makings of a Silicon Valley success: a start-up in Y-Combinator, the world’s most famous tech incubator, leading to a sale to Twitter and a plush job at Facebook. In Chaos Monkeys, he attempts a tell-all memoir about a technology industry that inspires both awe and fear across the globe.

Liar’s Poker meets The Social Network in an irreverent exposé of life inside the tech bubble, from industry provocateur Antonio García Martínez, a former Twitter adviser, Facebook product manager and start-up founder and CEO. Imagine a chimpanzee rampaging through a data centre powering everything from Google to Facebook. Infrastructure engineers use a software version of this “chaos monkey” to test online services’ robustness—their ability to survive random failure and correct mistakes before they actually occur. Tech entrepreneurs are society’s chaos monkeys, disruptors testing and transforming every aspect of our lives, from transportation (Uber) and lodging (AirBnB) to television (Netflix) and dating (Tinder). One of Silicon Valley’s most audacious chaos monkeys is Antonio García Martínez. García Martínez joined Facebook’s nascent advertising team, turning its users’ data into profit for COO Sheryl Sandberg and chairman and CEO Mark “Zuck” Zuckerberg. Forced out in the wake of an internal product war over the future

of the company’s monetisation strategy, García Martínez eventually landed at rival Twitter. He also fathered two children with a woman he barely knew, committed lewd acts and brewed illegal beer on the Facebook campus (accidentally flooding Zuckerberg’s desk), lived on a sailboat, and enthusiastically pursued the life of an overpaid Silicon Valley wastrel. Now, this gleeful contrarian unravels the chaotic evolution of social media and online marketing and reveals how it is invading our lives and shaping our future. Weighing in on everything from start-ups and credit derivatives to Big Brother and data tracking, social media monetisation and digital “privacy”, taking us on a humorous, subversive tour of the fascinatingly insular tech industry. Chaos Monkeys lays bare the hijinks, trade secrets, and power plays of the visionaries, grunts, sociopaths, opportunists, accidental tourists, and money cowboys who are revolutionising our world. The question is, will we survive? ON THE AGENDA...

Makers and Takers By: Rana Foroohar Categories: Banking & Finance, History, Investment & Markets £25,00

Drawing on in-depth reporting and exclusive interviews at the highest rungs of Wall Street and Washington, Rana Foroohar shows how the ‘financialisation of America’ – the trend by which finance and its way of thinking have come to reign supreme – is perpetuating Wall Street’s reign over Main Street, widening the gap between rich and poor, and threatening the future of the American Dream. Eight years on from the biggest market meltdown since the Great Depression, the key lessons of the crisis of 2008 still remain unlearned—and our financial system is just as vulnerable as ever. Many of us know that our government failed to fix the banking system after the subprime mortgage crisis. But what few of us realise is

how the misguided financial practices and philosophies that nearly toppled the global financial system have come to infiltrate ALL American businesses, putting us on a collision course for another cataclysmic meltdown. Drawing on in-depth reporting and exclusive interviews at the highest rungs of Wall Street and Washington, Time assistant managing editor and economic columnist Rana Foroohar shows how the “financialisation of America” – the trend by which finance and its way of thinking have come to reign supreme – is perpetuating Wall Street’s reign over Main Street, widening the gap between rich and poor, and threatening the future of the American Dream.

Books What Works By: Iris Bohnet Categories: Behavioural Science, Leadership & Management, Management, Workplace £16.56

Presenting research-based solutions, Iris Bohnet hands us the tools we need to move the needle in classrooms and boardrooms, in hiring and promotion, benefiting businesses, governments, and the lives of millions. What Works is built on new insights into the human mind. Gender equality is a moral and a business imperative. But unconscious bias holds us back, and de-biasing people’s minds has proven to be difficult and expensive. Diversity training programmes have had limited success, and individual effort alone often invites backlash. Behavioural design offers a solution. By de-biasing organisations instead of individuals, we can make smart changes

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that have big impacts. Presenting researchbased solutions, Iris Bohnet hands us the tools we need to move the needle in classrooms and boardrooms, in hiring and promotion, benefiting businesses, governments, and the lives of millions. What Works is built on new insights into the human mind. It draws on data collected by companies, universities, and governments in Australia, India, Norway, the UK, the US, Zambia, and other countries, often in randomised controlled trials. It points out dozens of evidence-based interventions that could be adopted immediately and demonstrates how research is addressing gender bias, improving lives and performance. What Works shows what more can be done—often at shockingly low cost and surprisingly high speed.

n opinion Gary Blackburn

‘YOU DEFINITELY NEED A HEAD FOR HEIGHTS’

The Highs and Lows of Scaffolding Life Where Tough Interviews Catch Out the ‘Duck Eggs’ Words Les Able Photos: Matt Mosur

ON THE AGENDA...

Absolute Scaffolding Ltd

“S

caffolders are dealing with people’s lives and any bish bash or messing around and you are finished,” is the unequivocal stance of Gary Blackburn, managing director of Absolute Scaffolding Ltd. But then Gary has every right to deliver some tough messages when talking about a business he has been in for the past 18 years; a business he “started from nothing” when there was less than a handful of scaffolding contractors on the island compared with today’s double figures. “When I first started it was from my house with a few scaffold tubes leaning against the garage, now we probably have around £1.5m worth of scaffolding and employ about 28 men,” says Gary, who recalls the halcyon days of 1997 when there was something of a building boom on the island and the scaffolding business grew with it. At that time Gary and his then business partner were running scaffolding alongside a small building company but when they decided to go their separate ways he decided to focus on the scaffolding side of the business where there was spiralling growth and close the building company. The business grew and two experienced scaffolders who joined it 15 years ago, Martin Leivers and Kevin Rooney, are now partners in the business. “They proved just how good they were so I eventually gave them the option to buy into the business and now Martin is running the scaffolding ‘gangs’ and checking sites while Kev is out there as a top rate scaffolder.” Gary, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, readily acknowledges the help given to the business and the scaffolding sector in general by the Isle of Man Government, focusing on all important training with the Health and Safety Inspectorate introducing stringent regulations more in line with those in the UK. He recalls that in the early days of setting up the business Absolute had to rely on scaffolders coming from the UK because of a shortage of labour in the island’s construction industry which meant Work Permits had to be granted. “In 2003 and 2004 building work was really busy so employing labour from across was crucial but today out of the 28 people we employ there is pnly one requiring a Work Permit,” says Gary who, when he left school at 16, joined the police as a cadet; two years later he became a fully fledged police constable. But then, three years on, came a career change and what amounted to a lifechanging decision which took him into the building industry and eventually the setting up of Absolute Building Contractors was CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“Scaffolders definitely need a head for heights. They also have to be very focused on what they are doing”

born. “While Absolute Building Contractors is no more I still do some building work for myself but the overall running of Absolute Scaffolding is of paramount importance in what is an ever increasing competitive industry,” says Gary.“ So what are the requirements for a scaffolder? “Definitely a head for heights,” laughs Gary. “They also have to be very focused on what they are doing with attention to detail. When scaffolder comes to us for a job we put him through a comprehensive and rigorous test to find out his level of competency, that way some ‘duck eggs’ have been caught out. We don’t just rely on what’s on a piece of paper he may bring with him from having worked elsewhere, we assess his ability ourselves.” He adds: “If something goes wrong it can harm all the good work you have put in over the year many clients have become friends. As a company we are constantly re-investing, we have to, but we are paid less than we were seven or eight years ago and that is because of the economy. We have had a busy summer but prices charged have been at rock bottom.” On the UK referendum result to leave the EU, Gary admits that if he had had a vote it would have been to exit. “I like to think there will be more opportunities coming to the island in the wake of Brexit and the positives will gradually become apparent.” Currently poised to join the Isle of Man branch of the Institute of Directors, he adds: “It’s not just for networking, I want to get to know more people in business who are faced with the same problems as myself, be they in financial services or in the building industry. What’s more, I’ve discovered that these days you are no longer expected to wear a pin-striped suit to be a member of the IoD.”

n opinion Gary Blackburn

FACT FILE REVELATIONS “Scaffolders are dealing with people’s lives and any bish bash or messing around and you are finished”

FAMILY? Wife Jo, two sons Will & Chris,

daughter Emma.

BEST GADGET? Alarm clock (never lets

me down).

SPARE TIME ACTIVITY? Mountain

biking, football.

FAVOURITE COLOUR? Red FAVOURITE MEAL? Indian curries WORST CHARACTER TRAIT? Can’t

cook

PHOBIAS? None FAVOURITE FILM OF ALL TIME? No

Limits (George Formby)

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?

Better ask my wife!

WHAT DO YOU MOST DISLIKE? Rude

people...............................................

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHICH AGE WOULD YOU GO TO? Being

26 to watch my kids growing up again and spend more time with them.

THE CRAZIEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU AND THE WORST?

Watch childbirth (my own obviously) and family passing away. BIGGEST EXTRAVAGANCE? Family

holidays – love them!

TOP OF YOUR BUCKET ‘TO DO’ LIST?

YOUR BEST QUALITY? Easy going

Route 66 on a Harley.

GUILTY PLEASURE? Davison’s ice cream

WHAT SONG/HYMN DO YOU WANT AT YOUR FUNERAL? Queen’s ‘Another One

BIGGEST INSPIRATION? My Mum & Dad

A PERFECT DAY? Walk the dog, mountain bike ride, lunch in Peel on the Prom, ice cream, home to watch football on TV followed by Sunday roast and night on the sofa.

Bites the Dust’.

ON THE AGENDA...

G & N I K N D BA E N I OUNT B C C M A O C ENT ANKING & M T S E V ED B I NO C M B I N I ONNT FAOCRCMO U N T TE AM IAN P PVLEI SCT A LRL M R O F TI O N F O N U T O IES A C C C I C L N P AA P E R CUR LN F O R YOUR L A O R I O T F O IUNNGT S O L UC I ETSR A V E L ACC A N K C UTRIROENNA L B A Y OTUERR N IN C TN F O R AI O T T U N L O O G SC L SSETS BPAONI NK TI NO F I O N A L T ROAUVRE A Y T I N T E R RNTA F O R A L L REPO TACT N O C F POINT O SETS S A R U ALL YO R O F T REPOR

FOCUS, THE ALL IN ONE ACCOUNT The complete solution from the best international banking service provider*. To find out more, visit www.nedbankprivatewealth.com. *International Fund & Product Awards Winner 2015

ISLE OF MAN

JERSEY

UNITED KINGDOM

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

SOUTH AFRICA

The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested. Exchange rate changes may affect the value of investments. Nedbank Private Wealth is a registered trade name of Nedbank Private Wealth Limited. The parent of Nedbank Private Wealth Limited is Nedbank Group Limited, which is incorporated in South Africa and is regulated by the South African Reserve Bank. The ultimate parent of Nedbank Private Wealth Limited is Old Mutual plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales. The latest audited report and accounts, and details of the credit rating are available at www.nedbankprivatewealth.com. Nedbank Private Wealth Limited is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and is a participant in the Isle of Man Depositors’ Compensation Scheme as set out in the Compensation of Depositors Regulations 2010. For full details, please see www.iomfsa.im. Registered office: St Mary’s Court 20 Hill Street Douglas Isle of Man. The Jersey branch is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission and is a participant in the Jersey Banking Depositor Compensation Scheme. See www.gov.je/dcs for full details of the Scheme and banking groups covered. The London branch is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registration No: 313189. Your eligible deposits with Nedbank Private Wealth Limited, London branch, are protected up to a total of £75,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. Any deposits you hold above the £75,000 limit are unlikely to be covered. Please ask for further information or visit www.fscs.org.uk. The UAE representative office in Dubai is licensed by the Central Bank of UAE. Licence No: 13/191/2013. Representation in South Africa is through Nedbank Limited. Registered in South Africa with Registration No 1951/000009/06, an authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP16).

n opinion roger w smith

Watchmaker Roger W Smith Wows Buyers at Saatchi Gallery Exhibition Two New Apprentices Join the Business as Demand Surges for New Range of Unique Watches Words: Les Able Photo: Matt Mosur

ighteen months ago Gallery interviewed internationally renowned Isle of Man watchmaker Roger W Smith and his two apprentices one of whom, Canadian Charles Birchall, 24, had only joined the elite business three months earlier. Over the ensuing months major changes have taken place. Roger launched a new and highly successful range of watches, exhibited at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London and has become a father for the second time and now has two daughters.

Charles, something of a socialite , while enjoying his role as an apprentice found that he loved the island for his love of cycling but missed city life and decided to embark on some further globe-trotting with the Bahamas high on the list! Roger, however, became acutely aware that with 30 people on the waiting list for one of his watches, which range in price from £100,000 to £250,000, there was an urgent need to replace Charles with an apprentice to join Josh Horton, 26, who became Roger’s first apprentice five years ago. Welshman Sion Morris, chosen from ON THE AGENDA...

Apprentice Watchmakers

“There is still so much to learn but I’ve become more self-sufficient, I’m not having to ask so much.”

more than 50 applicants, became that new apprentice when he joined the business in August. Watches had already played an important role in his working life as for the past five years he had been servicing Omega watches from its centre in Southampton. “It was a friend who told me that Roger was recruiting, so I sent off my CV although not too clear just what the job involved but excited by the prospect of working for Roger, whose ideals stand for the rebirth of true English watch making,” said Welsh speaking Sion,26, who comes from a village near Aberystwyth. CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

He added: “Roger has this great reputation for making high-end watches and the fact so many applied shows the prestige in which he is held in the industry. This is a chance of a lifetime for me. While I do have a number of qualifications in watch making from both the University of Birmingham and the British Horological Institute it could be more than 10 years away before I make my first watch under my own name, which is my ambition.” Married and living in Ramsey, with his wife Laura working in the finance sector, Sion added. “The goal is to keep learning,

and in watch making that applies whether you’re 16 or 65.” As for relaxation, he readily admits to being something of a biker with his Yamaha F Diversion. Caving and climbing are also on the list. “I have a list of motor bikes and watches I would like to own but the prices don’t quite meet what’s in my wallet,” he adds with a grin. Josh admits that watch making is a lengthy learning curve. “I’ve certainly learned to be patient, you might spend a few days making a part, you then mess it up at the last moment and then have to start all over again. I’m now working on the winding section of the watch and hope that in the next 12 months I will make a complete watch instead of a component.” Asked how the past 18 months since we last met have gone for him there is no hesitation. “There is still so much to learn but I’ve become more self-sufficient, I’m not having to ask so much.” Aware I was holding up the morning coffee break (the apprentices take it in turn to make it) it was a swift summing up from the ever-relaxed Roger Smith who says new range of watches from series one to four are “selling well”. Customers, he describes as people who have created their own wealth and are still actively in business. “Our customers recognise we have created something which is very different, unique and rare. We have also been given planning consent which will see us move into a larger workshop in Sulby.” He added: “It’s all action stations but progressing very well. Looking back on my youth, I had to do all the learning myself but Josh and Sion have the advantage that I can pass my knowledge on which makes it better for them.”

n opinion Margaret Simpson

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A friend suggested a career in nursing and after passing an exam with the General Nursing Council, I was offered Registered Nurse training and never looked backâ&#x20AC;?

ON THE AGENDA...

Hospice Isle of Man

“Sadness and gloom is not what Hospice Isle of Man is about,” says chief executive Margaret Simpson as she looks ahead to her retirement in December. Words: Les Able Photo: Matt Mosur

hrewd business woman Margaret Simpson, driving force behind Hospice Isle of Man for 13 years, has decided to relinquish the reins of chief executive in December and finally pamper herself with what she describes as ‘me time’. “Yes, that final day will be sad and emotional but I’m now 65, it’s time for me to move on,” says Margaret (real name Malgorzata), who left her native Poland when she was 18 and arrived in London to study English “I’m going to miss the team, the camaraderie and all the volunteers. It is a job which has been so much part of my life.” She is determined, however, not to wallow in sadness and within a week of retiring Margaret and husband Andrew will be flying to New Zealand to see their son and three grandsons. “I love travelling so we will also be going to California, it will be three months before we return home and then a new life on the island begins for us.” Margaret was 21 when she married Andrew, then an RAF fast jet pilot. She was by then bilingual and initially worked in stocks and shares for a bank in London but soon came to realise that banking was not for her and moved on to a job with a Polish travel agency. “A friend suggested a career in nursing CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“I will leave with a sense of pride and achievement”

n opinion Margaret Simpson and after passing an exam with the General Nursing Council, I was offered Registered Nurse training and never looked back,” recalls Margaret. It was in Kent that her nursing career flourished in a number of high profile roles and where she developed a passion for palliative care, it was this that eventually led to her becoming manager of the NHS hospice in Rochester for five years. “One day, in 2003 during my usual commute, I decided I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life driving 70 miles a day and all too frequently stuck in traffic. By then our children Adam and Hannah had grown up, our parents had died so Andrew and I were relatively free. We agreed that if either of us could find a job somewhere less populated and less busy offering a better quality of life we would give it a go and move.” Margaret saw an advert for a nursing director in the Isle of Man, she made some enquiries but decided not to apply. “I said I wasn’t prepared to go that far north nor live on an island,” laughs Margaret. “ Fate then intervened, it seems that there were no suitable applicants, the post was re-advertised and it was suggested I apply for it. The invitation was one of ‘come and see us’ which I did, was offered the job and the rest, as they say, is history. “I said it would take six months to sell our house in Kent, we put it on the market and it was sold within the first week so our move to the Isle of Man was meant to be. We arrived in January, 2004 and Hannah came with us.” Regrets? “Never,” is the unequivocal response from Margaret. “I had lived in England for many years but I never felt as if I belonged there, I always had one foot in Poland and the other in England, coming to the island I felt instantly at home.“ Within two years of taking up her role she was very much part of the project, led by then Hospice chairman John Quinn, to build a new 12-bed hospice to replace St Bridget’s a converted house with nine beds that was by then no longer fit for purpose. “The Mighty Oak appeal led by Sir Miles and Lady Walker to raise £2m to go towards building the new hospice was launched and was achieved in 2005. The following year I became chief executive of Hospice Isle of Man which included children’s hospice Rebecca House. Hospice was officially opened by the Princess Royal in 2008.” With the passion she is renowned for Margaret goes on: “The Hospice is not just about beds. It provides a wide range of out-patients and community

“I love travelling so we will also be going to California”

services as well. We still have to raise awareness as to what a hospice is about. It is not just about dying, it’s about living and helping people to make the most of every day. “Most people die in hospital, others in nursing homes or at home. None of us know how long we’ve got. Sadness and gloom is not what Hospice Isle of Man is about. At any one time some 400 patients across the island are having care from us.” Monday’s are ‘drop in’ days in the Scholl Wellbeing Centre where professionals are available to give advice to those who might need it and their families. A ‘drop in’ is held in Ramsey Town Hall on Wednesday’s and a similar service is planned in Port Erin. As we leave her office and walk past bedrooms, treatment rooms, etc and back to reception Margaret’s love affair with the building and all it means to her is apparent. “I will leave with a sense of pride and achievement that 13 years ago when I came here, Hospice was a much smaller charity compared with today. We have a fundraising target of £3.7m, which includes the Isle of Man government funding of £600k plus other assistance, with 85p from each £ we raise going on patient care. “We have to employ doctors, nurses, therapists, social worker and counsellors who are all specially qualified and trained which means we have to be competitive and remunerate them in line with the NHS, otherwise it would be impossible to attract people to work for us. None of this work would be possible without a tireless commitment and support from the 500 Hospice volunteers and the Board of Governors chaired by Sir Miles Walker.” As to opportunities which might come her way once retired the reply is ambiguous. “I’m flexible; I do manage change very well. You never know, if I get bored I might start another career!!!”

ON THE AGENDA...

n opinion - Nigel & Phil taylor

RELATIVE 40

ON THE AGENDA...

rock food concepts

VALUES Father and son Nigel and Phil Taylor who opened 14North six years ago share an ambition to See the Island become a ‘Food Destination’. Words: Les Able Photos: Matt Mosur

Lacklustre and limited choice! Six years ago this was the doleful description which could be applied to much of the restaurant scene in Douglas and beyond. Today, however, the island can boast choice and award-winning restaurants with Douglas on the cusp of having a recognised restaurant quarter overlooking the Marina. In the vanguard of this change is father and son Nigel and Phil Taylor whose restaurants 14North, Bath & Bottle and Little Fish Cafe bask under the corporate umbrella of Rock Food Concepts, a privately held investment company which is Isle of Man-based and hungry for more opportunities.

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

p n opinion - relative values

The Son 42

ON THE AGENDA...

rock food concepts

Phil Taylor

A “

ll three businesses are doing well, says Phil, 33, still recovering from an accident on his road bike with severe injuries to his left leg, “We are always looking at opportunities on and off island, predominantly in food and drink, but not necessarily always restaurants.” Phil and his sister Laura were both born in Hong Kong, where Nigel was practising law, but the family moved back to England when Phil was eight. It was Sevenoaks School followed by the University of Birmingham, leaving with a 2:1 BSc in Money, Banking and Finance. “Even my childhood is littered with food memories and when I was in Hong Kong I wanted to open a pizza restaurant,” he recalls. But the “best three months” of his life came when, as a result of his interest in food, his mother Tricia steered him in the direction of Ballymaloe in Co. Cork. “A world renowned cookery school promoting the farm to fork philosophy of food and produce and run by the amazing Darina Allen,” says Phil. His early experience working as a chef included an exclusive chalet in the Alps, Wholefoods in London and a small business start up in Dubai. Whilst in Dubai Phil’s responsibilities grew beyond the kitchen and he became responsible for business operations, including the successful tender for Waitroses’ delicatessen at its inaugural overseas store. 2009 proved to be a pivotal year in the life of not only Phil but also his parents who had already moved to the Isle of Man and were looking for possible sites for a restaurant. Phil came over from Dubai for a holiday which coincided with the Food and Drink Festival and he discovered just how many producers were starting up on the Island. “I didn’t feel that enough was being made of local produce,” says Phil. “My parents and I had lunch in Elliot’s Bistro on North Quay which was up for sale and the rest is history. Dad had always been interested in property and decided to buy what was then a 20-seat restaurant, refurbish it and create a two storey restaurant with a flat above, which was to become my home. Mum, without any previous experience took on the

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“Even my childhood is littered with food memories and when I was in Hong Kong I wanted to open a pizza restaurant”

responsibility for the interior design and has done so for all three restaurants.” He goes on: “From the beginning my parents and I worked very closely on what was to become 14North. In the first few weeks of it opening in 2010 my parents were ‘dummy diners’, sitting outside enjoying wine and pizza, making it clear just how delicious it was as people walked by. The day-to-day running was my responsibility but Dad was always there to act as a sounding board and give good advice. At 27, Phil had realised his ambition of owning his own restaurant. “Dad and I discuss strategies and look at other opportunities, we tend not to disagree. We both know where our strengths and weakness lie. Dad is not just highly intelligent, but very wise, he always has been and his opinions are always considered and balanced. He never loses his cool, is always very calm and never raises his voice.” When quizzed on all three restaurants he adds: “14North was obviously the first, and whilst initially days were unpredictable, ultimately the momentum of the business grew quickly and it hasn’t really looked back. Bath & Bottle opened under a veil of secrecy and rumour with no one knowing what sort of establishment it was going to be. At the time it may have seemed a risk but now there is rarely a restaurant which opens without a cocktail program. “The food and drink industry has changed so much since 2010 and Little Fish Café was a culmination of not only national trends but everything we had learnt as a business. Each restaurant has been opened with an integrity appropriate to the location which has made them all satisfying in different ways.” He adds: “Make no mistake, as a business we are not standing still, not only have we just extended and refurbished 14North but by the end of the year it will be a restaurant with rooms, three boutique bedrooms, stylishly designed for comfort and relaxation. We are targeting anyone who wants a quality experience on the quayside.”

p n opinion - relative values

The father 44

ON THE AGENDA...

rock food concepts

Nigel Taylor

igel Taylor, 64, might also be described as enigmatic, unassuming, preferring to remain in the background. There is, however, a quiet genteel charm and dry sense of humour, inherited by his son; a man who has had an illustrious career in law, both in marine and aviation disaster work. “I started with a London law firm and in 1980 was asked to go to Hong Kong for a year, but stayed for 11, it was an exciting period in our lives,” recalls Nigel, who admits he did not set out to be a lawyer and would have preferred to have been a journalist. A memorable highlight of his career was one of the most tragic episodes in aviation history. In 1991 Lauda Air flight 004 crashed mid-flight from Bangkok to Vienna with the loss of 213 passengers and 10 crew. The cause was found to be an aircraft fault and Nigel, the only lawyer in Asia with the relevant experience in aviation disaster claims, represented 52 families whose next of kin had lost their lives. With Quine and Watterson ancestry in the Isle of Man on his mother’s side, Nigel had an affinity with the island from early family holidays. His great grandmother, Margaret Quine, had left the island when times were bad to train as a seamstress in Liverpool. “You could say she was the first food person in the family as she ended up running a bakery and butchery business in Liverpool,” says Nigel. “Her husband died but she continued running nine shops when women didn’t do that at the turn of the 20th century.” He goes on: “Her father, John, was a fisherman in the south of the island. She was by all accounts a formidable lady and saved enough money to buy a cottage in Colby. She would take the night boat from Liverpool, arrive in Douglas and then travel by pony and trap to Colby, stay there for the day and then make the journey back to Liverpool for the start of the working week.” No longer practising law, Nigel decided to escape the stresses of modern life in England and buy a cottage in the island. “I didn’t expect to be engaged in business here,” he confesses. “Phil showed no inclination to go into a career in finance or banking. He made it clear he wanted to do something involving food and I agreed

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“I started with a London law firm and in 1980 was asked to go to Hong Kong for a year, but stayed for 11” to fund him on a food related course in Co.Cork. It was like a light bulb moment for him. It was a wonderful experience,, from being a minimalist student through his school and University years, he was suddenly hoovering up every food book he could get his hands on. “He enjoyed the fast paced lifestyle in London and Dubai and so initially I

couldn’t see him slotting into a quiet life in the Isle of Man. I was wrong. The success he has achieved and the plaudits have been well earned. I’m delighted he has found the right career path and at a young age. He has great passion for what he does which is an admirable quality, he is extremely ethical and has a true commitment to both the hospitality industry and the Isle of Man.” Nigel and Phil share an ambition to expand further. Nigel, now involved with the Global Justice Network and startup businesses in the island, remains the inveterate strategist and potential bankroller. “I see the island as a magical place with much unfulfilled potential. We employ 55 people, we have a big payroll to meet, we are committed to the island but I think hospitality is a forgotten industry here. It was a big part of the island’s history and economy for many years, but with the advent of cheap package holidays in sunnier climes the island’s focus shifted to finance and then on to e-gaming,” declares Nigel. “I understand and support the thinking behind a diversified, progressive economy but when people come here, for whatever reason, they want their first experience to be a good restaurant and hotel, if not, then those accustomed to international standards are going to see the Isle of Man as a backwater. I want to see the island as a food destination. “Looking at progress over the last six years, it is gratifying to see other people in the industry copying us and the arrival of new entrants. Artisanal producers are a growing sector of the island’s food economy. While we might not be on a par with foodie havens such as Ludlow or Padstow you have to set a target and I would like to see the Manx community and government share this aspiration. Mass tourism will never return to the island, but niche food tourism is feasible.” “The red tape here riles me. The bureaucracy of the Isle of Man is frustrating. The heavily promoted “freedom to flourish” bears little resemblance to the realities,we learned that the hard way in terms of work permits, licensing laws, planning, etc. “I’m concerned that the island doesn’t sell itself as it could, there is a negativity and we are losing experienced people, we need to encourage entrepreneurialism and a more intelligent dialogue,” is Nigel Taylor’s unequivocal message.

n opinion Alan Clague

Disciple of Renewable Energy Alan Clague May Be But A Dedicated Follower of Green Wellie Fashion Alan Clague Is Most Definitely Not! Words: Les Able Photos: Matt Mosur

“I

’m not a member of the green wellie brigade,” is the unequivocal assertion of Alan Clague who then goes on to preach enthusiastically about the benefits of renewable

energy. “It’s not just ‘nice to be green’, renewables have got to make sound economic sense and save pounds, it’s all about being smart with your property,” explains Alan, a director of SCS, the island’s largest provider of facilities management and building services. “Before investing in any technology make sure the building fabric itself isn’t losing you money, insulate to make sure it’s draught free and airtight, you need to look

closely as to where you are losing money, with utility costs perhaps high on the list. You may have empty floors in a building which aren’t let, why spend money on heating them?” He goes on: “Over recent years we have had increasing levels of enquires from clients to introduce renewable energy in what we do. We are now ready to run with it, we have the data, the case studies and proven technology to back it up. At the same time we want happy and satisfied clients, we would rather under-estimate than under-perform and are more than happy to work with the utilities in achieving what clients want, but are determined to take a common sense approach to it.” Alan points to a success story on his ON THE AGENDA...

stewart clague services limited

own doorstep. The Salmon Lake Centre and Ballacregga Tea Rooms at Laxey, which are owned and run by the Clague family, last year won an award for its sustainability following the installation that capitalises on the nearby river and lake. “We wanted to improve the efficiency of the buildings, including an old stone building which needs a lot of heating,” says Alan. The site now benefits from a selfsufficient hydro-electric, central heating, air conditioning and hot water system and al l can be controlled either centrally from a PC or remotely by smart phone or tablet. The result was that the upgrade secured the ‘Private Sector: Best Innovation’ at the Isle of Man Energy Awards. “Initially, we CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“Before investing in any technology make sure the building fabric itself isn’t losing you money”

p n opinion alan clague

FACT FILE revelations FAMILY? Wife, 2 girls and a boy. BEST GADGET? Remote control. SPARE TIME ACTIVITY? Golf FAVOURITE MEAL? CCG WORST CHARACTER TRAIT? My wife

Joanne says its winding people up.

PHOBIAS? Tomatoes RT T The Shawshank Redemption, like all men. MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?

Shouting abuse at my friend who was failing to reverse park her car and then realising when she got out that it was a total stranger.

GUILTY PLEASURE....shouting at

people who can’t reverse park.

BIGGEST INSPIRATION? Homer

Simpson.

A PERFECT DAY? A lie-in, full cooked

“We wanted to improve the efficiency of the buildings, including an old stone building which needs a lot of heating” decided we could install a turbine in the nearby Laxey River to provide free electric to heat the premises but then it occurred to us that we really should also be able to heat or cool.” He continues: “We were advised that if we used the natural resource of the adjacent salmon lake far more benefits could be achieved. It was the logical solution, the benefit of using the lake was that the system wouldn’t be at the mercy of the elements or have to worry about heat dissipating into the atmosphere.” Biomass is high on the sustainability

list and offers the opportunity for the island, with its many forests, in a position to produce its own biomass fuels. At the Defra plant at St John’s trees which have been cut down are shredded and the end product dried out and critical moist levels achieved. It’s a long-term project but with the Government supporting self-sustainability biomass could ultimately result in the island not having to import any fossil fuels. The Department of Economic Development backs investing in energy efficient equipment, emphasising that it makes “sound business and environmental sense”. DED highlights its Green Business Loan Scheme which offers a loan of 100 per cent towards the cost of projects that improve energy efficiency and can be arranged from £1,000 up to a maximum level of £20,000 per project. The scheme is at the discretion of DED and each project will be assessed on its potential to deliver real energy savings with preference given to projects that provide the greatest reduction in CO2 emissiions. “At the end of the day it’s all about being ‘smart’ and ahead of the game,” declares a man who is clearly an enthusiastic disciple of sustainable and renewable energy. As for green wellies forget it.

breakfast, walk the Labradors on Laxey beach, family dinner and then finish the day with a pint or two in my local

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER HAD? Always back up. WHAT DO YOU MOST DISLIKE?

Answering questions like these.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHICH AGE WOULD YOU GO TO? I

would rather go forward in time and see what life is like in 100 years time.

THE CRAZIEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU AND THE WORST? Looking back the craziest

is finding myself in the cockpit of a commercial airline from New Zealand to Singapore at the same time that the 911 terrorist attacks happened. The worst was losing my dear sister Annette to Leukaemia. BIGGEST EXTRAVAGANCE?

Fortnightly beard trims.

TOP OF YOUR BUCKET ‘TO DO’ LIST.? To look back at Earth from Space. WHAT SONG/HYMN DO YOU WANT AT YOUR FUNERAL..Simon and

Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water.

ON THE AGENDA...

COMMUNIT Y IS

W E F U L LY A P P R E C I AT E O U R I S L E O F M A N H O M E T H AT N U R T U R E S A N D S U S TA I N S O U R D E D I C AT E D B U S I N E S S . T H AT ’ S W H Y W E ’ R E T O TA L LY COMMIT TED TO OUR COMMUNIT Y AND M A K I N G A W E A LT H O F D I F F E R E N C E I N E V E R Y W AY W E C A N .

To find out more about Utmost Wealth Solutions please visit www.utmostwealth.com

n SPECIAL REPORTS blockchain

Blockchain can create financial sector jobs as well as kill them Some roles will vanish, but new skills will create opportunities Words: Sarah Murray (FT) Illustration: 221 Media

ome see it as the biggest change in technology since the advent of the internet. Others say claims for what blockchain can do are overblown. But those among the former group are now asking how the blockchain technology that underpins so-called cryptocurrencies, which include bitcoin, will affect jobs, particularly in the financial sector. Banks, clearing houses and exchanges are already eyeing the potential savings. Blockchain technology provides a way to continuously maintain and verify digital records in “blocks” that can be shared between various parties. Also called “distributed ledger technology”, it means ledgers can be updated instantly in any number of locations. The information can never be erased. “In basic terms, the blockchain is

a public record of transactions,” says Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Institute, a US-based forecasting and strategy firm. “This may seem less secure than a private record but as that transaction is made, the transaction itself becomes part of the ledger and all the data around that is encrypted.” Blockchain has the potential to handle a wide range of transactions managed by humans. “If you’re buying a house, there’s a mountain of paperwork and authentication and it requires a person to do it,” says Ms Webb. Blockchain makes it easier and more secure, and reduces the need for real estate brokers. Most applications are in the experimental stages, says Leda Glyptis, a director at Sapient Global Markets, a US-based capital and commodities markets technology consultancy: “It has been able to cope with everything we’ve thrown at it, but we haven’t thrown that much at it outside the laboratory.” However, banks, insurers and other financial institutions are interested in blockchain as a way to increase security and efficiency and to lower costs. Last month, four of the world’s biggest banks, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Santander and BNY Mellon, and broker ICAP, said they had teamed up to develop an industry standard to clear and settle financial trades over blockchain. In June, Allianz Risk Transfer, part of Allianz Group, and Nephila Capital, a specialist investment manager, said they had piloted the use of blockchain for processing and settling transactions in ON THE AGENDA...

“If it could be made to work there, it could be copied within a year or two all around the world,”Blockchain can create financial sector jobs as well as kill them”

bonds and swaps (financial instruments that transfer risk from insurers to investors or other insurers) for natural catastrophes. Earlier in 2016, the Australian Securities Exchange said it would work with USbased Digital Asset Holdings to create a system based on blockchain for clearing and settling trades in the Australian equity market. “If it could be made to work there, it could be copied within a year or two all around the world,” says David Yermack, professor of finance and business transformation at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Blockchain’s peer-to-peer model of transaction verification has important implications for financial services jobs, he says: “When you think of anyone who is keeping track of assets, I’d say their job is very much at risk, because of this technology.” Jobs potentially in jeopardy include those involving tasks such as processing and reconciling transactions and verifying documentation. Blockchain, says Ms Glyptis, allows transactions to be timestamped and finalised, with a mathematically proven method for confirming a transaction is valid. “The first area that would be hit would be any reconciliation or post-reconciliation activities — you just wouldn’t need to do it.” Others are more circumspect about potential workplace upheaval. Steve Wilson, principal analyst at Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research, says blockchain technology decentralises only the verification of the order of entries in a ledger, and not its contents. Auditors CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

and agents will still be checking the truth underlying the entries. Nevertheless, the nature of such jobs is likely to evolve. “You’d be hard-pressed to believe it’s not going to dismantle some of the infrastructure in the financial services sector and remove jobs,” says Vaughan Jenkins, a financial services specialist at PA Consulting Group. An example of the new skills blockchain could require is security: Ms Glyptis says that while blockchain creates an immutable record that is resistant to tampering, fraud may still occur at any stage in the process but will be captured in the record and therefore easily detected. This is where she predicts new job opportunities. “I can see a whole class of professions around encryption and identity protection,” she says. “Even though some jobs will disappear, we’re acquiring needs we’ve never had before around things that are more valuable than they ever were before.”

n SPECIAL REPORTS blockchain

Digital T Ledger Services KPMG’s ‘Blockchain for Business’ By Micky Swindale, Head of Digital Ledger Services, KPMG Islands Group

he average business man… or woman… on the Isle of Man is a lot more educated about the blockchain than their counterparts elsewhere – mainly because it has been on our radar since June 2014, when the Department of Economic Development issued its announcement that the Isle of Man intended to take specific actions aimed at helping protect businesses and customers utilising digital currencies and provide an environment for high quality businesses in this rapidly emerging field who wish to operate here. In early September 2014, the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce held a lunch at which KPMG Director, Russell Kelly, chaired a panel aimed at ‘Decrypting the Myths’ around cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, and later that month KPMG was lead sponsor of the summit which explored establishing a ‘CryptoValley’ here amongst our green hills. Despite this higher level of education, there was still a lot of confusion about what blockchain really was, and there wasn’t yet widespread understanding of its applications outside Bitcoin. In order to address that confusion, KPMG invited Preston Byrne, a fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, to speak at their 2015 eSummit on ‘Blockchain 2.0’. Preston described blockchains as “a pretty interesting peer-to-peer infrastructure”. A blockchain is two things, he explained. Firstly, it is a database, or the transaction history of a group of users using that particular blockchain. It is also a protocol, or a series of rules which govern how that database functions. Keen to demystify this area, Preston stressed ‘it’s just software’ and set out the myriad of applications that software can have for any business or government looking to manage data in a transparent, efficient and controlled manner. Since then, the interest of the global business community, particularly in financial services, when it comes to blockchain has increased exponentially. If we look back just at the past 3 months, there have been a procession of announcements: n In August, the World Economic Forum published a report which was a ringing endorsement of the ability of blockchains, and their potential to reshape modern finance; n In September, Goldman Sachs announced their plan to put foreign exchange trades on the blockchain; n Later that month, a US Congressional group was set up to study blockchain technology and the US Military stated they were exploring using that technology to secure their nuclear weapons; n In October, the Chinese government ON THE AGENDA...

published a “whitepaper” that set out key milestones for the development of blockchain technology in the country, in the strongest signal yet that it’s encouraging the growth of the technology there. So it is clear that we need to sit up and pay attention to the blockchain – and KPMG is doing so. We describe the blockchain simply as a ‘Digital Ledger’ and our aim is to help financial services companies to implement blockchain technology. To achieve that aim, the KPMG Digital Ledger Services team provides a comprehensive suite of services that is designed to help financial service firms realize the potential significance of blockchain; utilising the distributed ledger technology to provide faster and secure transactions, reduces costs, streamlines and automates back office operations. As the recently appointed head of Digital Ledger Services for the KPMG Islands Group (covering the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Malta, Bermuda and the Caribbean), I met with KPMG’s global head of Digital Ledger Services, Eamonn Maguire, in New York recently. As Eamonn explained: “The Blockchain represents not only a dramatic shift in how financial services organisations will manage transactions in the future but also how they structure their internal operations going forward. This is something that all financial services companies must be considering and accelerating” KPMG’s Digital Ledger Service provides full support at every stage of development from proof of concept to designing use cases, deploying systems, and operations with the help of ongoing management support. The services by KPMG will incorporate strategic realisation, requirements guidance, systems, and operations integration, among others. Additionally, KPMG is expanding its partnership with Microsoft, which will help clients to move securely and efficiently to cloud for storage at the same time as adopting disruptive blockchain technologies; “We’re excited to be expanding our efforts with KPMG to develop blockchain services. The global availability of Microsoft Azure, with its hybrid cloud capabilities, extensive compliance certification portfolio, and enterprise-grade security help to enable blockchain adoption, especially in highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare and government,” Marley Gray, director of business development & strategy for blockchain at Microsoft said. Across its member firms worldwide, KPMG has dedicated more than 80 partners and executives to focus on blockchain, including our industry leading Data and Analytics services. These will focus on coding and development in support CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

The KPMG sponsored CryptoValley summit in September 2014.

The audience at the IOM Chamber of Commerce lunch on ‘Decrypting the Myths’ in September 2014.

of proof of concept, prototyping and integration of blockchain capabilities. In addition to increasing the speed and security of transactions worldwide by using cryptology, blockchain technology also can be used to reduce costs by leveraging cloud technology. Blockchain can also improve regulatory compliance by offering detailed factual evidence and a solid audit trail of transactions for auditors and regulators. Currently, KPMG is working with clients worldwide on a range of global blockchain projects. Among these projects is the qualification of a blockchain solution for a major bank’s global payments, the development and prototyping of smart contracts in insurance and involvement in blockchain workshops across Canada and Europe. If you want to know more about the blockchain, or KPMG’s services in this area, please contact Head of Digital Ledger Services, Micky Swindale, on 681020 or at mswindale@kpmg.co.im.

Laurence Skelly, Russell Kelly & Jane Dellar at the IOM Chamber of Commerce lunch on ‘Decrypting the Myths’ in September 2014.

Preston Byrne at the 2015 KPMG eSummit.

n SPECIAL REPORTS blockchain

Technology likely to cause huge di s rupti o n to how the fund industry operates Words: Attracta Mooney Illustration: 221 Media

ON THE AGENDA...

sset management insiders believe blockchain, the nascent technology behind bitcoin, the controversial digital currency, will cause huge disruption to how the fund industry operates, prompting significant changes to its business model. Blockchain, which is a giant, online public ledger, was developed to keep track of who owns bitcoins and who owned them in the past. But now the fund industry is examining how it could use the technology. Proponents say blockchain will revoluntise the finance industry. They believe it could eradicate the need for clearing and settlement, the long-standing process whereby ownership of a security is moved from one investor to another. This could mean fund managers and banks would need fewer staff for some roles, while investors would probably benefit from lower fees. Asset managers, including a cohort of UK managers, are also looking into

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“There is quite a lot of the fear of the unknown with blockchain”

employing the technology to trade directly with each other, cutting out traditional middlemen such as brokers and bringing their costs down in the process. According to a survey of 125 asset management professionals across fund houses, custodian banks and consultancies, blockchain is expected to be a very disruptive force within the fund industry. Asked which areas of financial technology will have the biggest impact on the fund industry, 42 per cent of those polled listed blockchain, while 43 per cent nominated big-data analytics, where large sets of information are analysed to uncover market trends or other useful information. In contrast, only a fifth listed roboadvisers, which provide automated online investment services. Keith Hale, executive vice-president for client and business development at Multifonds, the software provider that carried out the survey, says the possibility of blockchain disrupting so many different parts of the asset management industry has left many concerned. “There is quite a lot of the fear of the unknown with blockchain,” he says. Michelle Seitz, head of William Blair Investment Management, the $64.7bn US asset manager, says: “I do believe that [blockchain] has the power to disrupt the plumbing of the asset management industry, and if it does, it will speed the service and the delivery of what we do for the client, and cut out costs. “It could be a massive disrupter to the industry, but in a good way.” The fund industry is still trying to get to grips with the impact blockchain could have. Experts say it is difficult to understand the wider implications of the technology. Olivia Vinden, principal at Alpha FMC, the consultancy, says that as well as having the potential to eradicate the traditional settlement process, blockchain could also be used across other functions in the fund industry. This could include providing a new way for asset managers to interact with regulators or helping to prevent money laundering by making it easier for asset managers to keep track of their investors. “Blockchain could be totally transformative for the [fund] industry, both in how it operates and in terms of costs,” says Ms Vinden. Richard Hinton, a partner at KPMG UK, the professional services firm, says it is likely to take some time before blockchain’s impact is seen in the fund industry. “There is a still a lot of work to be done before it is adopted in a widespread fashion,” he adds.

n SPECIAL REPORTS robo advice

Robo advice can never exterminate the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial frailty Words: Clear Barrett (FT) Illustration: 221 Media

ON THE AGENDA...

utomation alone can’t bridge the ‘advice gap’ Robots. They’re driving our cars, starring in Hollywood blockbusters, and now they appear to be the future of financial advice. Just before the Budget, a half-inch thick report into the UK’s so-called advice gap offered hope that robots — or more accurately “robo advice” — could be used to provide low-cost financial guidance to millions of Britons who aren’t hugely wealthy and can’t afford to pay thousands in fees. Could robots really close the advice gap? Computer says .¿.¿. maybe. The hype surrounding robo advice is huge. All of the high street banks have plans to “go robo”. They have already invested billions in online banking, and therefore have the distribution platforms to roll out this algorithm-powered software to vast numbers of people. And the wealth managers and investment advisers also see the potential of using robo to reach less affluent clientele and still make a profit. After all, you do not need to pay wages to a robot. Much like the dreaded self-service checkouts in supermarkets, robo advice is a labour saving device. So how does it actually work? In simple terms, based on your answers to a string of financial questions, robo advisers come up with several potential courses of action. Crucially, the human being (that’s you) makes the final decision and thus the robot (and its programmer) cannot be sued in future for providing shoddy advice. So why are we reduced to delivering investment advice in such an automated fashion? Not because consumers actually want it, but because financial institutions hope it will allow them to push products without the risk of future mis-selling scandals. Back in 2012, the financial advice industry suffered a regulatory heart attack known as the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). This banned savings groups from paying commissions to independent financial advisers (IFAs), meaning punters had to pay fees upfront. Nobody would argue the previous system was perfect. But post-RDR, the services of an IFA cost around £150 per hour. The result? The so-called advice gap. A great many people found the cost of advice unaffordable or off-putting, and a great many IFAs have quit (the FCA recorded a drop of 25 per cent between 2010-2014). Estimates vary, but tens of millions of people are unable or unwilling to pay for full-price advice. Hence an 82-page report recently from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Treasury on what can be done to correct the imbalance. The short

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“You don’t need a robot — you could have a video showing that if you keep putting it off, you will have to eat cat food when you’re older” answer is more robo, more involvement from employers and endless consultations. Titled the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) industry people refer to it as “farmer” — which is apt, as the buck-passing nature of its content has impolitely been likened by some commentators to the dung of a certain animal. As the FT’s City editor Jonathan Guthrie puts it: “The ability to describe a disaster without directly admitting you helped to cause it is a useful one¿.¿.¿.¿The FCA and the Treasury stand beside the smoking

ruins, matches in hand, sorrowfully agreeing that the house has burnt down.” A bad situation was made worse by pensions freedoms, which have enabled people to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives — how their retirement funds are managed or prematurely spent — in most cases without any advice whatsoever. According to FCA estimates, two-thirds of retail financial products sold in Britain are purchased without the customer having taken professional advice, up from 40 per cent in 2011. These include pensions and retirement income products. Those with relatively small pension pots in the tens of thousands run screaming when IFAs quote fees of a few grand to advise them. So can robo advice provide the answers? When it comes to choosing simple investment products, yes, it probably can. But when it comes to financial planning, computer says no. Just because someone is not wealthy doesn’t mean their finances are without complexity. The UK has a convoluted tax, benefits and welfare system. Even if an algorithm was invented to cope with this, its next challenge would be getting through to the UK’s financially disengaged population who would rather bury their heads in the sand than work out a financial plan. Think I’m being too harsh? Look at the evidence in the FCA report. One in five Britons don’t understand their bank statements. Nearly half of people over 50 admit they do not understand stocks and shares Isas. And only 14 per cent of people said they would be confident planning their retirement goals without financial advice. More bad news from the report — even though the UK government provides free “guidance” services, the take up has been disappointing. Research by Citizens’ Advice last year found that fewer than half of people were even aware they existed. This is a shameful statistic. “When it comes to financial planning, people need to be guided by humans, they need their hands held and they need to be cajoled and possibly beaten,” says Jason Butler, an independent financial expert. He thinks the obsession with robo is missing the point — the biggest problem is that nobody is making financial planning fun, simple or engaging. “You don’t need a robot — you could have a video showing that if you keep putting it off, you will have to eat cat food when you’re older,” is his tongue-in-cheek suggestion. This would certainly have shock value. And if the great robo experiment doesn’t work out, there would be plenty of robots on hand to help you with opening the can.

n Technology & entrepreneurs

Vannin Ventures: Incubator for innovative technology

usiness incubators are now essential in the communications technology sector in order to take the latest research and innovative ideas, and bring new products to market. Because the sector changes so fast, it requires incubators that have the flexibility to adapt quickly if commercial opportunities are to be realised in an increasingly competitive market. It’s in this context that Manx Telecom recently launched Vannin Ventures, a new standalone business established to support the company’s long term growth strategy. Based at The Nunnery (which is also home to the International Centre for Technology) Vannin Ventures is led by Tom Meageen and Peter Callow, who both have extensive

experience in the communications sector. In his most recent role, Tom was responsible for setting up and running Manx Telecom’s international business which now forms a significant part of the company’s overall revenue, while Peter also brings a wealth of commercial telecoms business experience. “Our mission and vision,” says Tom Meageen, “is to collaborate with partners to deliver transformational growth by developing disruptive technologies and bringing innovative products and services to market. We’re doing this by identifying new and promising business opportunities in the telecoms and technology sectors, and acting as an incubator. We provide access to a comprehensive range of professional, technical and commercial expertise, and to world class global telecoms infrastructure. While Vannin Ventures benefits from the support of our parent company, we have an autonomous team which allows us to develop a creative environment ideally suited to nurturing original ideas. Most importantly, Vannin Ventures has an entrepreneurial ethos with the flexibility necessary to move quickly and take exciting ideas from inception right through to bringing new products to consumers and businesses.”

Find out more about Vannin Ventures at www.vanninventures.com and click on the ‘News’ section to see an interview with Tom Meageen and Matthew Turner (CEO and founder of Goshawk Communications).

ON THE AGENDA...

PIONEERING RESEARCH COULD HELP MILLIONS OF HEARING LOSS SUFFERERS

Vannin Ventures’ Tom Meageen (left) and Peter Callow (right), with Manx Telecom CEO Gary Lamb (centre).

Vannin Ventures’ strategy has three key elements: n Establishing an incubator for innovative technology propositions and creating a hub for trials prior to a UK or global launch (see the tie-in panel for an example of this type of project). n Developing and deploying innovative mobile technology propositions. n Creating new partnerships (and nurturing existing partnerships) with global technology leaders and like-minded businesses with an entrepreneurial spirit.

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

The launch of Vannin Ventures is not only great news for Manx Telecom, it also demonstrates the Isle of Man’s ability to innovate, attract inward investment in the technology sector, and create new jobs in the longer term. www.vanninventures.com

A perfect example of why Vannin Ventures has been launched can be found in a research and development project happening right here on the Island. Working in partnership with UKbased Goshawk Communications, Vannin Ventures recently began the second phase of a ground-breaking technology trial which aims to help people with hearing loss when using a mobile telecoms network. Last year, phase one of the trial proved the concept of using software to fine tune and improve the audio dynamics of mobile phone calls for people with hearing loss. That proved to be very successful, and for most participants there was a marked improvement in the clarity with which they could hear, and for some it entirely transformed the way they could use their mobile phone. In one case, a volunteer in his 80s who suffered hearing loss due to an industrial injury some years ago, reported that he could hold the phone to his ear without the need to use his hearing aid. In fact, the volunteer found that when he spoke to his son on the phone during the tech trial, he could hear his son’s voice more clearly than when he was speaking to him face-to-face. Aiming to build on this success, a phase two clinical trial is currently under way involving 60 volunteers with varying degrees of hearing loss. This trial is being supported by the Isle of Man’s Department of Health and Social Care’s Audiology Service, the Wellcome Trust and one of Vannin Ventures’ technology partners, Partitionware, and Ideas For Ears which is the not-for-profit organisation coordinating volunteers. Tom Meageen commented: “We believe that both of these trials are the first of their type anywhere in the world. Phase two of the trial is still under way, but we are confident that it will take us a significant step closer to our long-term goal of using this technology to deliver life-changing benefits for people with hearing loss worldwide.” Phase two of the trial is expected to be completed before the end of this year, or early in 2017. Anyone who is interested in taking part in the project should contact Sally Shaw at Ideas For Ears by phoning 07739 581 059 or emailing sally.shaw@ ideasforears.org.uk

n Entrepreneurs

Older entrepreneurs pass

‘pitestntwithofinvestors beer’ Words: Jane Bird (FT) Illustration: 221 Media

echnology entrepreneur Steve Young launched his most recent appeal for venture funds at the age of 63. The parttime professor of information engineering at Cambridge university wanted backing for VocalIQ, a speech-related artificial intelligence company he founded with a then 31-yearold member of his Cambridge research group. The pair raised £750,000 in June 2014 and delivered a rapid return on their backers’ investment in October 2015, when the company was sold to Apple. At a time when people are expected to work longer and it is harder for many to find jobs, entrepreneurship among older people is rising. This is particularly so in less developed economies where there are fewer jobs, says Donna Kelley, professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College, Massachusetts. The 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey, which she co-authored, found that in less-developed countries, 17 per cent of founders were aged 55-64, the same ratio as among 18-24-year-olds. A further 21 per cent were 45-54. Start-up founders are often older,

says Prof Young, because it takes time to gain knowledge in areas such as computer science, mechanical engineering and robotics. However, older digital entrepreneurs need fairly young and energetic partners to help bring projects to completion. “I don’t think the equivalent of a Rolling Stones pitch [where the founders are all over 60] to investors would work. The package we were selling was my several decades of experience combined with my very bright, energetic young colleague, Blaise Thomson.” Prof Kelley says entrepreneurship lets older people “be their own boss, do something they enjoy . . . It gives people not ready to retire a source of income when their job options are slim and achieving former earning levels is hard.” Despite this, age can be an obstacle to raising cash, says Peter Cowley, a business angel in the UK. Entrepreneurs need to be there long enough for an exit to occur and must have energy, agility and drive. He adds: “Potential investors might wonder why they are unable to fund the early stages themselves.” But Mr Cowley agrees they do have

experience on their side. Even those who have not run a business have been in the workplace a long time and better understand resources implications such as recruitment, Mr Cowley says. “Lots of young people hire fast and fire slowly, whereas they should do the opposite.” Older people can also build on past mistakes, Mr Cowley says: “In the UK, that used to be a problem. But now we’ve adopted the US view that you can’t be trusted to run a new business if you haven’t had a failure.” California-based investor Ronjon Nag, who has backed many digital companies in the US and Europe, agrees: “Older entrepreneurs are likely to have made more mistakes and are less likely to repeat them.” The average age of founders he has backed is over 38, and several are well into their 50s. The older ones tend to have more connections, he says. “A lot of success in business is knowing the right people and targeting your product in the right place.” Industry contacts have been central to Prof Young’s success. Thanks to his long teaching career, he knows people in many large companies that have an interest in speech technology. ON THE AGENDA...

How to Write a Business Plan Here are six tips on what to include in yours... 1. Set the content Include information about the background of your company, who the customers are and the previous performance of the business.

2. Outline your goals

Generation game: backers want Mick Jagger-style energy.

A business plan explains your company's objectives and how those goals will be achieved, so develop a list of short-term targets that will help indicate progress for the longer term.

3. Consider you industry

He also has a good record. Raising funds for VocalIQ was relatively easy, given the success of his previous ventures: Entropic was sold to Microsoft in 1999 and Google bought Phonetic Arts in 2010. He also invests in his start-ups. One problem for older entrepreneurs is how long they might want to keep working after the business is sold. “The acquiring company is buying your expertise and will want to lock you in,” Prof Young says. He worked for two years at Microsoft after it bought Entropic, and will spend 60 per cent of his time with Apple until he is 67. Older entrepreneurs have the advantage of being closer in age to most investors. This helps them pass the “pint of beer” test, says Mr Cowley, where the investor takes the entrepreneur for a drink to find out whether the relationship will work at a personal level. Given demographic trends towards longevity, Mr Nag says older digital entrepreneurs may have more insights into future trends. “They will be better placed to create products for the fast expanding ageing population,” he says. Prof Kelley agrees: “With the population ageing in developed economies, the CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“I don’t think the equivalent of a Rolling Stones pitch [where the founders are all over 60] to investors would work. The package we were selling was my several decades of experience combined”

Include information on the state of the market, your company's target segment of that market, and industry trends.

4. Describe your marketing approach Include information on how you target customers, but also consider what competitors might be doing.

5. Include financial data Document past, present and predicted future performance and include what is required of investors and lenders.

6. Discuss success factors Include information on potential risk as well as success factors such as how your team can cope with adverse situations.

Wise words

Start-up tips for the not-so-young n Have a younger co-founder to show your business has the required energy.

market for entrepreneurial opportunities targeting older age groups will grow, and entrepreneurial individuals in these age groups will be better placed to notice and understand these opportunities.”

n Be prepared to continue working if your business is acquired. n Have a succession plan if you are likely to take more than 10 years to achieve an exit from your business. n Target areas where older people may have knowledge, such as health systems. n Choose a field where your wide network can help, either as employees, investors or customers. n Put in your own money, even if it is only a small amount. n Recruit slowly — but fire fast if you need to.

n Entrepreneurs

School of hard knocks no barrier for billionaires “there’s a value in university. It teaches you how to follow directions and meet deadlines and work in groups. But it shouldn’t be the only way we learn”. Words: Murad Ahmed Illustration: 221 Media

he world’s top self-made billionaires do not just have more money than everyone else; they often have less top-level education than the managers and accountants running their companies. Research shows that about a quarter of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs dropped out of university or high school before going on to join the financial elite, a greater proportion than those who achieved masters degrees. It shows dropout billionaires are more prevalent than just household names such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates or Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg — something legions of MBA students may ponder as they rack up large debts in pursuit of a ticket to future riches. Although half of the self-made billionaires tracked by Verve Search — a UK-based internet marketing agency — gained a bachelors degree or equivalent, only 20 per cent completed a masters, while roughly 5 per cent went on to obtain a doctorate. All of them gained their place in the financial elite through their own endeavours rather than inherited wealth. The data cross-references the annual

ON THE AGENDA...

NUMBER OF DOLLAR BILLIONAIRES IN UK DECLINES BY A FIFTH

Forbes rich list on the wealthiest 100 self-made billionaires in every year since 1996, comparing each person’s educational progress through information gained from public sources. Concern about the effect of rising tuition fees has led some to question the value of university education for those wanting to start a business at a young age. Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal, has created a fellowship that encourages students to skip university to free them up to take risks early. His foundation promises grants of “$100,000 to young people who want to build new things instead of sitting in a classroom”. Dale Stephenson, a US recipient of the fellowship who left college aged 19, told the FT at the time of his award that “there’s a value in university. It teaches you how to follow directions and meet deadlines and work in groups. But it shouldn’t be the only way we learn.” But Kathy Harvey, the associate dean of MBA and executive degrees at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, said a university education was invaluable in most cases. “We shouldn’t be surprised that some of the world’s billionaires dropped out of school,” she said. “Mark Zuckerberg dropped out because he had Facebook as an idea. Not to follow that idea at that time would have been folly. “But it took a combination of great judgment and luck to reach that point. The majority of people still benefit from getting the general education that gives them confidence and helps create a network.” She added: “Education isn’t just about making money, it’s about being resilient in life. You would expect that people who have taken time to think and learn about things are also able to apply themselves in the same way to their ambitions.”

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

Britain lost nearly one-fifth of its dollar billionaires last year, according to a new survey, as the number dropped from 130 to 106. The latest Wealth X survey said the combined wealth of Britain’s super-rich had dipped from $395bn to $295bn, partly because of the weakness of sterling. London remained popular as a centre for global financial wealth, with 68 resident billionaires, making it the second most popular city among the super-rich in Europe after Moscow and number four in the world. Sebastian Dovey, co-founder of Scorpio Partnership, the wealth management consultancy, ascribed the fall in the number of UK billionaires to a number of factors. “Part of it might be down to the dollar issue — billionaires are victims of currency movements like everyone else,” he said. He also speculated that some families “repositioned themselves” ahead of the vote in June to leave the EU. Despite the fall in numbers, Mr Dovey said he remained confident in London’s attractiveness, particularly given the recent drop in the value of the pound. “The smart money for a lot of families will be coming this year,” he added. Globally, there were 2,473 billionaires reported in 2015 — an increase of 6.4 per cent from the year before. Their overall net wealth stood at $7.7tn, up by 5.4 per cent 12 months ago. Asia leads the world in terms of growth in the number of new billionaires, producing four times as many as the US, the report found. The proportion of billionaires making their fortunes in investment, finance and banking is also losing ground to the number of people becoming rich through entrepreneurial businesses in Asia. “It is not very glamorous,” said David Barks, associate research director at Wealth-X, “but the core of the world economy is actually creating more billionaires at the moment. “The development of China and Asia is happening very quickly, and as entrepreneurs and the industries they associate with start to broaden out, I think you will probably see local financing really broadening, especially to the retail sector.”

“Globally, there were 2,473 billionaires reported in 2015, an increase of 6.4 per cent from the year before”

n recharge feature

How to achieve a work-life W balance

What is a worklife balance and why is it important?

Words: Angela Ogier (FT) Illustration: 221 Media

ork-life balance articles tend to assume that work is an oppressive evil that must be escaped. But is it? What if you are not stressed and enjoy meeting the challenges of your organisation? Is there something wrong with working a few extra hours? It depends on your relationships with the ones you are close to and whether these are sustainable given your career context. My point is that the idea of a work-life balance is different for everyone - you just need to understand what is important to you. ON THE AGENDA...

For example, would you like more time with family and friends? Are there sporting ambitions you want to achieve? These are valid reasons to set goals about your life and to give you a framework to make your decisions based on achieving an equilibrium. There are also serious problems that could result from a life dominated by work. Your loved-ones may feel neglected or you could damage your physical or mental health. These are signs you may need to make radical changes and either renegotiate your hours, analyse your career choice or leave that employer. What to do if there is a culture of presenteeism? Let your managers and colleagues know about your constraints. For instance, inform them that you have to pick up your children from school at a certain time and see if they will schedule around you. Employers will support good employees to achieve a decent work-life balance. This is important for the company as it allows them to keep CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

and support good workers and encourage loyalty from them. Get more in sync with the office rhythm. When I was in France, everyone started at 9 am. There was no point arriving prior to that time as no one would register you as present. If being present is really important, then analyse when to be there when it really matters. You can also create presence remotely. I will often rise early to clear my inbox and deal with urgent queries first. My colleagues see the value I create in the early morning and therefore understand when I leave at 5.30 pm. Notwithstanding the above, always attend meetings with your manager and anyone above them as this is your chance to show off your work. Their time is precious and you may not get space in their diary at other times. How to manage time effectively at work? There is a school of thought that says you can have it all. Personally, I think this is true - it just depends what â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;allâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; means to you and accepting that you need help. I do not set the expectation that I will do everything at work. By encouraging my staff to work independently rather than hovering over them, I get time to focus on high-value or top-priority activities. You need allies to work out what you can delegate and also find time to do something positive for yourself. For example, I book time in my diary every day for lunch. My secretary does not book over the lunch period. This means I get fed at the right time and, every so often, even share lunch with a colleague. This is important time for me to recharge. The same technique can be used to ensure you have desk time to prepare for that important presentation rather than having your day swallowed up by meetings

that may not concern you. If pressed for time, decide what is necessary for any assignment, you do not have to aim for perfection every time. If you have a handful of important meetings ahead of you, ask someone else to attend on your behalf. How do I negotiate my working arrangements? Remember, balance is a negotiation between yourself and those around you. Often I see people failing to negotiate effectively with employers as they are unclear on what they want, or their expectations are unrealistic. If you want flexible working, you need to be hitting your targets as agreed with your managers. If you want to work three days a week, be aware that you will need strategies to keep in touch with what happens on the other two days. Get to know the policies and implications of part-time employment in your workplace. Find out about what others have asked for to see what you can expect. Also, understand that sometimes other colleagues may have more important priorities than you and you may need to adapt to their timetable. Finally, you will need to keep HR and your boss up to speed with changes. If you are willing to change your working arrangements to secure a new opportunity or promotion, you must communicate this to key personnel. Keeping an active dialogue with your manager and colleagues ensures your workplaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectations are aligned with yours.

n recharge feature

The out of date out-of-office message

The ‘I’m on holiday’notification has not kept pace with technological advances Words: Lisa Pollack (FT) Illustration: 221 Media

ON THE AGENDA...

hen Professor Randy Pausch took a month off work for his honeymoon, his boss at Carnegie Mellon University insisted that he be reachable. So he recorded a message for when people tried to call. On it he explained that he’d waited until 39 to get married. Then he gave the names of his new in-laws and the town they lived in, so a caller could get their number from directory assistance. Then, lastly: “If you can convince my in-laws that your emergency merits interrupting their only daughter’s honeymoon, they have our number.” I was thinking about this clever out-ofoffice notification as I tried to construct my own in email form. Prof Pausch’s honeymoon message is a story from a more technologically innocent age — it was about 15 years ago, which is at least 100 in internet years. Back then, aside from the hurdles put in place by determined honeymooners, there were also plausible reasons to be out of touch. Now, technology is so good that it’s ruined our favourite excuses for not being reachable. Writing that one has “limited” or “intermittent” access to email is usually no more than a declaration that one intends to be choosy about dealing with it. But this is only half the story. The other is that technology, particularly when it comes to the out-of-office message, hasn’t kept up. There’s a robot that walks like a dog and cars drive themselves, so why don’t we have smarter ways to manage time spent away from work? An obvious improvement would be to add functionality to email clients that spreadsheet software has had for years: warnings that self-referential loops, aka “circular references”, have been created. This affliction hits parts of Europe especially hard in August. Person A is out of the office, please contact Person B if it’s urgent. Person B says the same, refers emailer to Person C in an emergency. Person C refers to Person A. It is either a clever ruse or poor planning, but given that everyone is already emotionally and mentally, if not physically, out of the door when they set this up, it’s probably the latter. From this it logically follows that any new out-of-office technology would have to respect the fact that having high quality time off is a team effort. So one of the top features for development should be a warning that pops up when you’re about to email someone from whom you’ve already received an out-of-office. The system will be smart enough to consider the dates that the holiday-maker said they were away in their email. This isn’t my idea. It’s covered by a US patent filed (grant pending) in 2006 that’s owned by IBM. I’d like it to go one further by having

CONNECTING BUSINESSES n

“If the message says ‘intermittent access’ but the person is replying to messages at a rate that implies that they want an excuse not to spend time with their family, their plausibility score would be near zero”

it hook up with an email scheduling service, giving you the option to forward the conversation to the well-slept sod on the day of their return in order to make absolutely clear that yes, they were right to wish that they could have just stayed in the Lake District forever. Provided colleagues heeded the warnings, such functionality would be a boon to those of us who have poor selfcontrol when it comes to unplugging from the Matrix. It would also, however, provide the added bonus of making it abundantly clear who the most and least helpful people are when we are attempting down time. Perhaps in the year after the release of a new add-in to Gmail or Outlook that provides this tool, the survey for the 100 Best Companies to Work For could include a Jerk Index measuring the number of outof-office notices heeded versus overridden. The next new feature would generate a public plausibility score for a given out-of-office message. If the message says “intermittent access” but the person is replying to messages at a rate that implies that they want an excuse not to spend time with their family, their plausibility score would be near zero. If the message says “no access” and the person replies to anything, this system will send them an image of US talk-show host Maury Povich along with the text: “Your out-of-office said that you wouldn’t be replying to emails. The fact that you replied determined that was a lie.” As for my own message, I decided on something non-committal. Until technology catches up, I might as well keep my options open. Oh, and I left Person B out of it. He’s not in anyway.

“Your out-of-office said that you wouldn’t be replying to emails. The fact that you replied determined that was a lie”

n RECHARGE spend it on...

bremont boeing 100

Bremont releases limited edition chronograph to celebrate Boeing’s 100th anniversary. The anniversary timepiece is manufactured from Boeing aviation-grade Ti 6-4 titanium, a special metal that is significantly stronger than commercial titanium and used widely in both airframes and engine components within the aerospace industry. The distinctive brown colour of the Boeing 100 was inspired by a cockpit colour often used in the older Boeing aircraft called ‘Boeing Brown’ which was reportedly designed to make the cockpits more relaxing to be in. The hue also has that more vintage Bakelite look and feel of the older controls.

n Wilkins The Jeweller £5’495 www.www.wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

An eye-catching suitcase from Goyard Bourget n Goyard Bourget £5,095 (Size: 52cm x 20cm x 34cm)

* In leather and canvas * Also in other colours www.goyard.com

Pure McLaren has released the date for its new ice driving experience, which will take place in Finland The only ice driving programme in the world, where drivers will be able to get behind the wheel of McLaren’s Sports Series cars, it represents an incredible opportunity for those lucky enough to attend. Taking place from January 15 to February 3, 2017, the event is for groups of up to 14 guests for a three-night stay. Not only reserved for current McLaren owners,

the event is open to anyone. A team of professional drivers will give those attending guidance on how to get the very best from the cars, showing just how driving on snow and ice differs from conventional surfaces. Not only will you be able to test-drive the McLaren 570S, but also be treated to a variety of other experiences, such as a husky safari and snowmobile expedition. They’ll

also stay in the famous Javri Lodge, which was the former home of the president of Finland. Completely remote and isolated, the location provides the perfect setting to view the Northern Lights. Of course, all of these experiences don’t come cheap. Prices for the event start at £12,500, though this includes transfers from to airport to the Javri Lodge, as well as winter wear for each person.

n McLaren £12,500 www.cars.mclaren.com/experiences

Hottest Destinations. Legendary moments. Escape the Rock. CLUBBING • BEACH • FUN • ADVENTURE • PARTY HOLIDAYS FROM THE ISLE OF MAN 68

ON THE AGENDA...

Japanese pair of gilded Bronze young boys A stunning Japanese pair of gilded Bronze young boys playing musical instruments, their robes richly decorated with gilt Ho-o birds ( mythical birds resembling the Phoenix), mounted on wood lacquered bases with gold lacquer foliage scrolls, signed in rectangular gilt plaque Miyao Ei of (Miyao Eisuke), Meiji period.

Japanese iron and mixed metal wall plaque

(Size: H 26cm X W 15cm X D 11.5cm)

A monumental Japanese bronze samurai warrior archer A monumental Japanese bronze samurai warrior archer holding a bow in one hand and preparing to draw his arrow with the other, his robe is decorated with formal crests mom, with an aikuchi into his waist and a tachi suspended from his side, signed in a rectangular reserve Gyoko, Meiji Period.

A very large Japanese iron and mixed metal wall plaque decorated with a parrot standing on a perch looking down at a vase amongst flowers, signed Hisakazu. With seal Sato Chokoku, Meiji period. (Size: H 102cm X W 70cm)

n Greyney Mooar Fine Arts Ltd £POA T: 01624 832828 M: 07624 462925 enquiries@greyneymooar.co.uk

(Size: H 110cm X W 50cm X D 34cm)

Book your getaway today

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BMW has unveiled the limited-run M4 DTM Champion Edition in celebration of BMW Motorsport Works driver Marco Wittmann’s DTM championship title. n Only 200 examples of the modified M4 will be produced, and will cost buyers 148,500 Euros (£134,136). (BMW IoM) www.buchananbmw.co.uk

Compared with the regular M4, the DTM Champion Edition straight-six engine features a power output that has been increased by 68bhp to 492bhp, while torque has been upped to 600Nm, a gain of 50Nm. This jump in power allows the car to sprint from 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds, before

A chic coat from a new niche label n $950/£765 www.permanentcollection.com

hitting a limited top speed of 190mph. BMW claims it can achieve a fuel consumption figure of 33.2mpg on the combined cycle, while CO2 emissions stand at 199g/km. Similar to the BMW M4 GTS, the DTM Champion Edition calls upon water injection technology, which helps to cool the

I’m approaching winter this year with a certain glee, as I have a new coat ready and waiting in the wings. The navy-blue boiledwool Yvonne coat ($950, also available in Loden green) from recently launched line Permanent Collection caught my eye with its pareddown silhouette and meticulous attention to detail. In a belted, almost bathrobelike style with a full funnel collar, it can look both casual and unstructured worn with slouchy jeans as well as creating a more cinched, put-together profile paired with tailored trousers. It’s a particularly flattering fit on my shorter-than-average frame and features sumptuous silk-lined sleeves and deep pockets.

engine’s combustion chambers, raising its thermally related performance limits in the process. The handling dynamics of the car have also been improved in an attempt to make the DTM Champion Edition a properly track-focused car.

PEREGRINE Loaghtan Tweed Brogues

n Windsor & Wales Brogues £260 | Jacket £450 www.windsorandwales.com

The PEREGRINE tweed brogues are handcrafted from a rich chocolate brown leather and uniquely feature a panel of the finest tweed, which has been hand-spun at a centuries old mill using wool from the rare sixhorned Loaghtan sheep, native to the Isle of Man. The brogue has a perforated wingtip and complimentary brown laces. The leather insole displays a signature hunting dog print and the sole is stamped with the Windsor & Wales crest.

nightingale tweed jacket

The NIGHTINGALE tweed jacket (limited edition) is expertly tailored and crafted in London from pure wool that is carefully dyed and spun before being hand-woven using traditional methods on the Isle of Man. The natural dyes and process used mean the final shade is actually a mélange of reds, lilacs and yellows imbuing depth and texture to the cloth. The jacket features signature contrasting mushroom-coloured undercollar in soft melton wool. ON THE AGENDA...

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Winter wonders from from an exceptional jeweller. Winter Winter wonders wonders from an anexceptional exceptional jeweller. jeweller. A 10.41 faceted pearfaceted cut Aquamarine set in 18 white gold with 1.24 sparkling diamonds. AA10.41 10.41 faceted pear pearcut cutAquamarine Aquamarine set setinin 18 18 white white gold goldof with with 1.24 1.24 of ofsparkling sparklingdiamonds. diamonds. This unning pendant and chain can also be worn as a atement brooch. This This unning unningpendant pendantand andchain chaincan canalso alsobebeworn wornasasaa atement atementbrooch. brooch.

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www.wilkin hejeweller.co.uk www.wilkin hejeweller.co.uk www.wilkin hejeweller.co.uk