Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship gives inaugural lecture
Pictured with speaker Alan Lewis (right) are the University of Huddersfield’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Cryan (left), and The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP (centre), Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:20:00 BST
Alan Lewis, Chairman of the Hartley Group, explains The Art of Entrepreneurship at his inaugural professorial lecture
ONE of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs has pledged that he and the University of Huddersfield will play a key role in regenerating Yorkshire industry by creating a “beacon of excellence”.
Alan Lewis CBE (pictured left) is Chairman of Hartley Investment Trust and Group and one of his current projects is the development of a business and innovation centre on the site of a massive former textile mill in the Colne Valley.
He has been appointed a Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Huddersfield and delivered his inaugural professorial lecture to a packed audience that included The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, plus other politicians and businesspeople, academics, students and members of the public.
Mr Lewis titled his lecture The Art of Entrepreneurship and drew examples from his own varied career in the UK and overseas to illustrate his themes. He told how he was working closely with the University and its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Cryan – describing him as a “true entrepreneur” – to boost innovation and manufacturing industry in Yorkshire.
Click here to watch the full lecture
It was important to ensure that kudos was again given to people who made things and who displayed entrepreneurialism, said Mr Lewis, and this was a spirit he wanted to nurture at the University of Huddersfield.
“We can become a beacon in Europe for excellence in entrepreneurship,” he added.
The University is a partner in his £30 million project to redevelop Globe Mills in Slaithwaite as a business park incorporating an innovation centre. It has now received planning permission. In response to a question from Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney, Mr Lewis said that all the finance for the project was in place and that the first business tenants should move in within 12 months.
Creativity, tenacity, honesty, serenity and judgment
Mr Lewis structured his lecture around the qualities that he believes must be possessed by a successful entrepreneur – creativity, tenacity, honesty, serenity and judgment. He also stressed the importance of “thought tied to purpose”.
He described creativity as “a formidable force” and said that “success is an absolute mirror of effort”.
A reputation for honesty was a fundamental requirement, said Mr Lewis. “Money is transient, but our reputation is with us for ever. Even if you fall on hard times, people will always want to do business with you.”
Globe Mills soon to be the home of the Globe Innovation Centre
In discussing serenity, Mr Lewis admitted that he enjoyed being under pressure, but said that the ability to stay calm was the key to mastering a stressful situation. Developing good judgment was a matter of time and experience: “I learned to make good decisions by making a lot of bad ones!”
The audience was absorbed as Mr Lewis described episodes from his career, starting with his formative experiences as an ambitious young entrepreneur from a humble background in Manchester. He became involved in petrol stations, railway car parking and the Lancashire cotton industry. Deals he made in this last field led to the formation of the Hartley Group, now involved in activities that range from banking and finance to energy, natural resources, land and property.
He made a great deal of money. “But it’s not about the money. It’s about the game,” said Mr Lewis, who went on to describe his ambitious bid to take over one of the world’s largest conglomerates, the Illingworth-Morris textile group. He recounted his duel with the formidable Pamela Mason – wife of Huddersfield-born film star James Mason – who had inherited control of the firm, and his encounter with the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
It was only after this experience that he was admitted to the ‘Establishment’ – lunching at the Bank of England, being consulted by the CBI and meeting the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Mr Lewis also described in detail his widespread overseas business activities, including banking in the USA and natural resources in Russia, where a meeting with Boris Yeltsin was one of his most vivid experiences.
He was quizzed by Secretary of State Eric Pickles about the problems of doing business overseas. Mr Lewis described the difficulties that could be faced, but said that one of his guiding principles was to be honest in his business dealings and in his life. Overseas partners quickly realised that they were dealing with a man that they could trust.
