Member Article

Major business award for Sir Peter Rigby

One the UK’s leading businessmen and entrepreneurs paid tribute to the Midlands as he collected a major honour.

Sir Peter Rigby was given the Lifetime Contribution to Midlands Business Award at the Midlands Business Awards 2018, recognising a 55-year career which has seen him build a family business empire which now employs more than 8,000 people in more than 20 countries.

The Rigby Group, which retains its international headquarters in the Midlands, includes businesses in information technology, airports, aviation, hotels, property development and financial services.

Sir Peter, who was knighted in 2002, started his career in IT at 18 in the North West before setting up in business in 1975 and moving to the Midlands.

He urged the audience at the Athena in Leicester to keep promoting the region.

He said: “The Midlands has been my home for a long time and where I have headquartered my operations. I am enormously proud of the region and believe it contributes a vital role in the health and wealth of the nation.

“Some of the best and brightest business talent hails from the Midlands and this room is testament to that fact. It is the engine room for Britain but this needs to be more than just political rhetoric.

“We should keep banging the drum, encouraging investment and taking the lead in a number of areas. The Midlands is an extraordinary place and in an increasingly internationalised world, we mustn’t lose site of the opportunity and talent available on our own doorstep.”

Sir Peter also outlined the key factors in being a successful entrepreneur – including passion, creativity, positivity, a willingness to learn and a strong instinct – and said that he is as committed as ever to his businesses, which are headquartered in Stratford-upon-Avon.

He said: “Passion is vital. When you have been running and creating successful businesses for as long as I have, people always want to know when you are going to step away or stop.

“For me that has always been a very easy question to answer. As long as I remain passionate about what I am doing and am making a contribution I will keep going – there is no retirement plan!”

Sir Peter joins a distinguished list of past winners including Lord Digby Jones and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .