What made you decided to come and live in Phuket?
I have been on vacation here many times since 1982. In 1994 I was living in Singapore and I bought a holiday home here and just fell in love with the place.

Did you come here intending to set up a business?
No. We originally had a two bedroom apartment but by 1999 my daughters were growing up and we wanted something bigger. There was nothing available at that time that was of a European standard so I got together with a friend who was a builder and we decided to build a couple of homes. We found there were many other people here who were in a similar predicament so we decided to build a residential gated community development of 19 properties, Lake Shore Villas, in Laguna. This was extremely successful and sold out very quickly so we decided to go into development on a permanent basis and set about our second development, Lakewood Hills. This sold out extremely quickly so we went on to build Layan Gardens.

What did you do before you came to Phuket?
I was Global Chief Executive of TNT but in 1995 I decided that I wanted to retire from corporate life. I took a couple of years off and during that time I and my family decided that we wanted to spend time here rather than in Singapore or the UK.

Do you miss England?
Not a bit because I haven't lived there since 1982. I do miss watching the cricket though.

Could you tell us about your latest project/exciting development in your businesses?
After the success of Lake Shore Villas and my second development, Lakewood Hills, we went on to build Layan Gardens in Laguna which consists of 40 luxury apartments with full facilities including swimming pools, tennis courts, golf putting and chipping areas and Jacuzzis. It was completed in mid 2007 and there are now only six apartments left available.

To what do you attribute your business success?
In business I've always been taught to get the best people possible around me, either as direct employees or consultants, provide a top quality product, whatever it may be, sell it at a fair price and provide outstanding after sales service. If you do this people will come back time and time again and refer other people to you and the business will build itself. This has proven to be very successful in every business that I've been involved in particularly here in Phuket.

How does doing businesses/working in Phuket compare to back home?
It is very similar in many ways. It's really just a matter of understanding the laws, rules and regulations, establishing good relationships with the authorities and having a good professional team of Thais on the squad.

Do you have family here? If yes, how old are your kids?
I've got a wife and two daughters. Lauren is 20 and she is studying at University in Sydney. She went to the International School in Phuket where my other daughter Carly, who is 17, is in her final year. We had a lot of friends who had put their children through this school and were very happy with it so it seemed the natural choice.

The person who has most influenced you...
Sir Peter Abeles, who was the chairman of TNT. He was a Hungarian refugee who landed on Australia in 1956 after the Hungarian uprising, penniless and unable to speak a word of English. He died in 2003 a Knight of the Realm, founder of a company that employs 35,000 people worldwide and fluent in nine languages. He was a very hospitable and generous individual and I was very fortunate to work closely with him during my TNT career.

What do you think the future holds for you?
Another couple of years work to finish my latest development, Luna Phuket, and then a complete slow down. I want to travel the world to watch sport; the Rugby World Cup, the US Open, the Masters, Wimbledon. I would like to spend four or five weeks enjoying these events rather than watching them on the TV. Phuket will always remain my base though, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Are you involved in any local charities, clubs or associations?
I am involved in a number of foundations and charities here in Phuket and also sponsor a number of Thai children from school through to university. I started off just helping some of my staff's children and then after the tsunami I started raising money in the UK to try and help more children. When the funds ran out I continued to support them myself. Every child we take on we support through school, including university if they go, and we also give them extra English tuition to ensure they are fluent.