In memoriam – the business leaders lost in 2015
THE region bade farewell to some of its most dynamic and entrepreneurial business figures in 2015.
They included Sir Maurice Flanagan, the Lancashire-born, Lymm Grammar-educated airline executive who founded Emirates in 1985 with $10m, a handful of staff and two leased aircraft.
Sir Maurice died in May at the age of 86, having build the Dubai-based carrier into one of the world’s biggest and best airlines.
Born in Leigh in 1928 the son of a miner, he was managing director of the airline as business until the age of 75. A man of many talents, he was a promising professional footballer in his youth and was a keen writer – his TV drama The Garbler Strategy was produced in 1969, starring Leonard Rossiter – and also a pianist.
Three leaders of prominent North West family businesses also passed away this year – Gerry Mason of Salford technical recruitment company Morson, Michael Sutton of Cheshire-based international logistics firm Suttons and Christopher Seddon MBE of Lancashire-based building and development firm Seddons.
Seddon died in April at the age of 73 having battled cancer, while Gerry Mason died unexpectedly at the age of 78 in July. He was movingly described by his son Ged as a “legend”.
Michael Sutton, who devoted 45 years of his life to the Widnes-based company his father Alf launched, died in May after a short illness.
Everton Football Club meanwhile, mourned former chairman Sir Philip Carter, who died aged 87 in May. Carter, cut his business teeth at Littlewoods, which he joined aged 21 and rose through the ranks to become managing director in 1976.
As chairman of the club in two spells he oversaw a period of great success on the pitch, while he was seen as an instrumental figure in the creation of the Premier League in 1992.
Other business leaders to pass away included Barrie Bernstein, a former kitchen company boss and tireless charity fundraiser, who succumbed to cancer in August after a four year battle with the disease.
Bernstein, from Altrincham, had strong business links in the Rochdale and Middleton areas, and was a driving force in the creation of the Rochdale Development Agency. His business, Bernstein Group, was based there and at one time was the second-largest kitchen manufacturer in the country with 1,300 employees.
Most recently, in late November, Dr Kevin Wilson, described as “the grandfather” of the Manchester investment banking community died aged 64 after a short illness.
Wilson’s legacy lives on though. He helped to create a number of corporate finance businesses including Zeus Capital and Diagnostic Capital in Manchester as was a guest lecturer at a number of universities too.
Finally, TheBusinessDesk.com bade farewell to Michael Blank, one of its most avid readers and correspondents, particularly on commercial property matters.
Mr Blank, who died in October, ran his own surveying practice in Cheadle and is sadly missed by many.
