Theo Paphitis
Theo Paphitis (born 1959), is a Cypriot entrepreneur, based in the United Kingdom, well known for turning failing companies into highly successful and profitable businesses. His ventures include a variety of business organisations: Ryman, Contessa, La Senza, Partners and Red Letter Days.
His motto: “There are three reasons to be in business. To make money, to have fun - and to make more money.”
Life and career
Greek Cypriot Theo Paphitis came to England when he was 6 and began his entrepreneurial activities, running his school tuckshop, at the age of 15. He was inspired to get into business when swivelling on the leather chair in the office of his father's air-conditioning firm.[1] As a young man, he took a job as an insurance broker with Lloyds of London, then discovered his passion for retailing and sales, working as a sales assistant for Watches of Switzerland. He became involved in commercial mortgage sales and eventually decided to go it alone. He made his money during the commercial property boom of the 1980s, later developing a taste for company turnarounds.
As chairman, Paphitis took Millwall FC out of administration, saw their first ever official Wembley appearance, and won promotion to Division One as champions. He is perhaps most famous for his attacks on football hooliganism, and guiding the club towards meeting Manchester United in the FA Cup Final in 2004.
Theo's wealth is estimated at £135million, and he was ranked 343 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2005.
He was one of the "dragons" in the BBC2 entrepreneurship series Dragons' Den in 2005, and will appear on the third series scheduled for late 2006.
External links
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