Last week I had lunch with the founder of PizzaExpress, Peter Boizot, at his grand old club, the National Liberal. He is 84 and has just written an autobiography: Mr Pizza and All That Jazz. Peter is a typical founder – maverick, obsessive, extrovert, energetic, egotistical and relentless. In many respects he has led an impressive and exemplary life – inventing businesses, creating jobs, providing entertainment and donating almost his entire fortune to good causes. As he puts it in the final chapter of his memoir: “I will always be proud that at every stage of my life I have invested everything into the things I love – whether it was pizza, jazz, heritage, sport or the arts. I think my work has benefited all of my passions, which is a fine footprint to leave behind.” He stepped aside with grace from his restaurant company after almost 30 years in 1993 when we took over, and remains its life president.
上週我與PizzaExpress創辦人彼得•布瓦佐(Peter Boizot)在他所屬的古老氣派的National Liberal會所共進午餐。布瓦佐今年84歲,剛剛寫了一本自傳:《Mr Pizza and All That Jazz》。彼得是一位典型的創辦人:特立獨行、專注、外向、精力充沛、自負和堅韌。從許多方面來說,他的人生堪稱令人印象深刻的楷模——創辦企業、創造就業、提供娛樂並將幾乎所有財富捐贈出去做慈善。正如他在自傳最後一章所言:「我將始終感到自豪的是,在人生的每一個階段,我將一切投入自己鍾愛的事業,無論它是比薩、爵士、文化傳統、體育還是藝術。我認爲我的工作造福於我的所有激情,這是我留下的美好印跡。」1993年我們收購PizzaExpress之後,布瓦佐體面地離開了自己創辦近30年的餐飲公司,但留任公司的終身總裁至今。