The Yoda of the business world

Bill Holmes is a remarkable man. In 1990, he founded a company called UK Fuels from a small flat above a hair salon in Cheshire. Today that company, now known as Radius, employs 2,800 people and has an annual turnover of £4.7bn. The company provides mobility, connectivity and technology solutions to more than 400,000 customers across 18 countries. Its employee share scheme has created 10 millionaires. But this is not what makes Holmes truly remarkable.

I was lucky enough to meet him at the home of Radius’s telematics division in Crewe, accompanied by a group of Business Leader members for an exclusive visit. Arriving 45 minutes early to make sure everything was set up, my colleagues and I were greeted first by a perfect replica of the Star Wars character C-3PO in the main lobby and then by Holmes himself, waiting for us and ready to go.

When our members arrived, it was clear Holmes had done his research. Greeting them each in turn, he was able to ask them informed questions about their businesses. When it was time for the presentation to begin, Holmes told us this was the first time he had ever done anything like this and he was happy for it to be shaped by the attendees. Sitting down and inviting interjections throughout, he took us through the early history of UK Fuels and how it grew into the multibillion-pound giant it is today. We learnt lots of interesting things along the way.

But what I found truly remarkable was revealed only when we went on a tour of the telematics premises. I’m not talking about the fact that this recently opened building was kitted out to resemble a Star Wars spaceship – although it is worth pointing out that it had a meeting room that looked like a command centre, light fixtures that resembled lightsabers and a restaurant called Yoda’s Pizzeria. No, the thing that truly set Holmes apart was the fact that he seemed to know exactly who everyone was.

Not simply their names, but where they were from, what their partners were called, how long they had been at the business and a personal anecdote or two. They, in turn, knew him. From the way he interacted with his colleagues, you would have thought he was still in the flat above the hair salon, building something from nothing with a small group of friends.

The colleagues for whom he had the most time were the grads. These bright people fresh out of university and in their early 20s were, according to Holmes, the future of the company. He made a point of interviewing every single one before they were accepted onto the graduate scheme. To remind you, this is a business turning over nearly £5bn a year with close to 3,000 staff.

This Yoda-like ability to know everything about his colleagues is even more impressive when you consider he is no longer chief executive of Radius but executive chairman. That role, in other businesses, can be entirely honorific but Holmes is still working in his company every single day, striving to make it bigger and better than it is already.

“Do you still enjoy it, Bill?” asked one of our members. Holmes shrugged and said: “Ah well, you know.” It was like he was being asked about running his local cricket club. At no point was there even a hint of immodesty or superiority on display. He was just a normal person talking about business, people, culture and Star Wars.

Long after the event was supposed to end, Holmes was still there, answering our questions as though we really were aboard the Millennium Falcon travelling through empty space with light-years to kill. When I reluctantly interrupted him to ensure we didn’t miss our train back to London, he was polite and apologetic, and continued to speak to the members who remained behind. If this really was Holmes’ first foray into mentoring a group of fellow entrepreneurs, I very much hope it won’t be his last.

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