Richard Upshall’s CV, at the moment, is a bit of a marathon. Take a deep breath… Executive Chairman of OES Oilfield Services Group; Executive Chairman of Askaris Information Technology; Executive Chairman of RU Consulting Limited; Executive Chairman of RU Listening Limited; Executive Chairman of RU Active Sports Services Limited; Executive Chairman of RU Hungry Limited and Chairman of RU Licit Limited.
Such a varied list is a rock-solid sign of a true entrepreneur. Richard is on a non-stop adventure from one side of the world to another, but always looks forward to his trips back to his Teesside colleagues.
TEENAGE ENTREPRENEUR
I was always an entrepreneurial kid, not particularly from that sort of family background, but I like earning money and always wanted nice things around me. I had a gardening business at 13, and would pay my mates £3 or £4 an hour to help me.
I’ve always been a dynamic sort of guy and certainly not afraid of working, and it was just the same in my thirties and now in my forties. I like a drink and a party but only after I’d earned it with some hard work.
I had always liked summers over in Britain when it was warm and we could all get outside. So when I decided to head off on my own when I was 25, I thought about Tenerife first, but would have had to work in a bar or sell timeshares.
I had already looked at Kuwait, but Saddam Hussein beat me to it.
BEING A BOSS IN DUBAI
I took the chance to get to Dubai with £200 in my pocket and a return ticket, which you had to have, and started working at Budget Car Rentals.
I saw opportunities in the oil sector and started working there quite successfully. One day I went to my boss and told him I didn’t want any more nice cars or beach club memberships from him – I wanted equity.
But he said no, so I started up Oilfield Engineering Services, which then became OES because there was some dispute over me keeping the full name when I bought out the company.
I was a millionaire when I was 27 and the company has just hit its 20th anniversary.
It was difficult to let people in to run my own business. I didn’t want another version of me because then I wouldn’t be able to run it as I want. We have a real mish-mash of skills and experience on the senior management team, including one of my mates who was in the gardening business with me when he was 16.
I look for a good sense of corporate behaviour, experience, a skill in things like the P & L side of the business – and a dynamism.
THE OIL INDUSTRY CRISIS
If you look at the huge fall in profits at Shell, you realise how much money they had been making. What the industry hadn’t done was made hay while the sun shone. Then you get to bale up the hay and store it to use when the weather is bad.
I have had to make cuts in salaries and personnel, but I permanently employ my staff, which is not the case in much of the sector. I think it gives better accountability, which gives us the quality of service we are known for.
We have seen a huge cut in turnover, down to break-even plus a bit more, but I have no problem dipping into my own pocket to keep personnel here. I am wealthy man with a good lifestyle and I want to look after my staff.
THAT LONG CV…
The number of companies I run is a little bit about spreading the risk around, but mainly about me being an entrepreneur. I had always fancied having a crack at the music side of things with RU Listening, and apart from the very big organisations, there is not a lot of talent management around.
I need to enjoy my businesses and keep track of them to see how they are doing.
THE DUBAI LIFESTYLE
I’m divorced with two stepdaughters, so started helping out at netball sessions and working with the youth teams. It’s a fun break from business – I can put my sunglasses on, get my whistle and no-one can reach me on the phone.
I’m a big carnivore and there are some awesome restaurants out here, from the names you would recognise like Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay to the local set-ups.
I have five big dogs, four rescues and one that was gift, and they are a big part of my lifestyle here. I have earned it, and make no secret of the fact that I have put millions into my companies to keep the jobs there.
I don’t actually have an office in Dubai, I mainly work out of one of the conference rooms and get people to meet me there. Or I am in the house with the dogs and talking to people on Skype – I like to look at someone when I am talking to them.
I still love the cut and thrust of being an entrepreneur and am looking forward to the future with confidence. We must manage the downturn and we will be stronger at the end of it.
Thirty per cent of the offshore inspectors were from Teesside, so I set up the business here and Teesside has been very loyal to me. I like the community and also looked over here because I have a very good friend who lives here who used to run a pub in the UAE.
A BUSY WEEK AHEAD
Thursday: Meeting some guys from a head-hunting company who want to talk about something, then talking to an oil company from Singapore, then I am out for dinner and a possible date – wish me luck.
Friday: Boating in the bay with some friends, because Friday is a bit of day off here.
Saturday: Recovering from Friday – and maybe some netball to go to.
Sunday and Monday: Probably some work at the office.
Tuesday: I am over here to have dinner with a couple of MPs.
Wednesday: On Teesside for the Gazette photos and to visit the OES offices.
Originally interview with Mike Hughes, printed in the Teesside Gazette, February 15th 2016.