Reflecting on Life by Garrie Renucci

I was lucky to have had an amazing family upbringing. We were a very close-knit Italian family living within a stone’s throw of my Nonno & Nonna & Zio Pietro in North Kelvinside. My brother, Ronaldo (Ronnie), and I were very close which was important after the tragic loss of our father and mother, aged 45 & 50 respectively. I always looked up to Ronnie and I am very proud of his achievements. He had the brains and I had the chat, some people say.

At school, I was never really one for close friendships, and in fact the day I left school, I left my friends behind. Since then, my long-term friendships have been people I met through my love of music and I have always been very creative and interested in art, fashion and music. Back in the day my music idols were Bryan Ferry, Debbie Harry, Slim Jim Phantom and The Sex Pistols, and they became close friends and I am still very close to some of them today.

Looking back, my family never had any influence on my choice of career, so I ended up following my then girlfriend Jennifer Mack - who subsequently became my wife - to the Glasgow College of Building & Printing to study Quantity Surveying even although I had no idea even what a Quantity Surveyor was!

My biggest advantage in life has been my over-confidence in whatever I have done, other than academically. I always believe I am the best and I always believe I can achieve often the impossible. All my life I have been a dreamer, and let’s never forget: dreaming is free, so believe in yourself because if you don’t, how do you expect others to believe in you?

In terms of ambitions, I have over-achieved on them for sure. On a school trip to London when I was in S2, I decided there and then that I wanted to live in Knightsbridge, so that’s where I have lived for the last 20 years.

When I was young I would dream of fast cars and a big

Reflecting on life by Garrie Renucci (1983)

life, all of which I have achieved but not without making mistakes along the way. But life has its challenges, and I lost both of my parents very young . . . I don’t think you ever get over it but you learn to live with it.

My biggest challenge on a daily basis is my dyslexia, OCD and being on what some people describe as “the spectrum”. I know I am different from others and I have to constantly remind myself, often to avoid conflict.

As for inspiration and mentors, a major inspiration in my life has been music and I can still remember when I listened to David Bowie’s album “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” for the first time and the effect it had on me. In the early years my brother Ronnie was my mentor, and although he was a Lawyer, I still learned a lot from him in life that would influence my career decisions. Another guide in my life was my Great Uncle Peter who was eccentric but had great stories, and I loved listening to his views and advice.

As you go through life, you learn not to hurt other people as everybody is somebody’s daughter or son - something you only really learn as a mother or father. It’s good to be kind to everyone in life and it costs nothing.

I have always had a great drive to be the best and give everything to what I do and that’s not changed, but my younger self would be most surprised to learn that you don’t have to be academically brilliant to succeed in life, and that one day I would be playing Polo, never mind for England!

About Garrie Renucci

Since 1987 Garrie Renucci has worked for Gardiner & Theobald and is now a Partner and Board Member of this international independent construction and property consultancy based in London. Inspired by music and a supporter of charitable causes, in 2007 he played drums with a rock band at 18,000ft on Mount Everest, giving the world’s highest ever acoustic concert. Sport has also played a large role in his life, from his days on the rugby field at Millerston, or football at Westerlands, to pedaling along the foothills of The Himalayas raising funds for The British Asian Trust next March. Swopping one saddle for another, he is also Patron of Vendetta Polo Team, and captained England in the summer when they beat the American team at the Newport Polo International Series at Rhode Island, earning his 5th England Cap.