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Infamous entrepreneur addresses directors

An entrepreneur who famously caused the downfall of his business through comments he made at an Institute of Directors dinner is set to address members of the same institution in the North East.

Gerald Ratner was the millionaire chief executive of Ratners Jewellery, which he built into the world’s largest jewellery retailer with 2,500 shops, making £125m a year, and with a £2bn turnover.

But after he made uncomplimentary remarks regarding product quality at an IoD national conference in 1991 the company suffered financial losses.

The Institute of Directors North East has announced that Mr Ratner will be the keynote speaker at its Business Leaders’ Dinner on 24 February.

Despite the controversy, Mr Ratner re-launched his career in the jewellery sector as chief executive of geraldonline.com.

The dinner, being held at the Raddison SAS hotel in Durham, is sponsored by Teesside University Business School.

Richard Elphick, chairman of the IOD North East, said: “Gerald Ratner will be a stimulating and inspirational speaker and I am looking forward to hearing about how he managed to triumph over adversity.

“In today’s challenging times, I am sure that much of Mr Ratner’s advice about how to overcome difficulties will be of interest. Gerald Ratner has always been a provocative and forthright speaker. We will all be able to learn from and relate to his journey.”

Alastair Thomson, Dean of Teesside University Business School, said: “We are delighted to help bring Gerald Ratner to the North East. He’s someone whose business life is an example to us all – in successful times and troubled times. By continual reinvention and determination to succeed, no matter how daunting the starting point, Gerald shows us how to cope with the highs and lows of business life in a way few others can.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .