Sir Gerry Robinson

Gerry’s new BBC TV series ‘I’ll Show Them Who’s Boss’ highlights six key management issues: leadership, formulating a strategy for the future, relations with your staff, implementing redundancies, focusing on the important issues, and communication. For those interested in the techniques and skills required to run a successful business, Robinson is the man to listen to.

What can Robinson provide that other business gurus and management books cannot? Perhaps the answer is suggested by the fact that he is extremely interesting even to those who have no real interest in business and no ambition to begin their own.

Robinson is convinced that the practical skills required to run a business are relatively simple. But this does not mean that everyone can run a successful business. Robinson’s gift is not that he understands and clearly relates what the requisite skills are, but that he is a subtle psychologist who only cares about what’s necessary to make the business work.

Gerry began his career in 1965 in the coast office of Lesney Products (Matchbox Toys) after leaving St. Mary’s Seminary at Castlehead.  During his time at Lesney he progressed through various accounting roles to become Chief Management Accountant in 1974. He also during that time qualified as an ACMA.

In 1974 he moved to Lex Service Group as the Management Accountant for Lex’s Volvo network.  By 1980 he had become Financial Controller and Finance Director of Lex Industrial Distribution and Hire.

He left Lex in 1980 to become Finance Director of Grand Metropolitan’s UK Coca-Cola business. A year later he became its Sales and Marketing Director and then its Managing Director. In 1983 he was appointed Managing Director of Grand Metropolitan’s troubled International Services business and went on to become Chief Executive of the whole Contract services division which in that year had lost some £10.5m.

In the past three decades, Gerry is credited with converting Coca-Cola UK’s £7m loss into a £17m profit in two years; leading in 1987 the biggest management buyout ever seen by creating Compass out of Grand Metropolitan; and in one year stemming Granada’s losses to post returns that were 10% higher than market expectations.

Sir Gerry is currently Chairman of Allied Domecq PLC. He was Chairman of Granada until February 2001 and Chairman of Arts Council England until January 2004. He was also previously Chairman of British Sky Broadcasting Group and ITN.

Gerry was awarded a Knighthood in the 2003 New Year’s Honours for Services to the Arts and Business. He has been heralded as one of Britain’s best businessmen.

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