100 Club: Nigel Shaw, Partner at Garbutt and Elliot
Nigel Shaw is a Partner at Garbutt and Elliot and a member of the Leeds Community Foundation’s 100 Club, a patronage scheme for individuals who are motivated to make a difference in Leeds. Here, he discusses what he loves about the city of Leeds and why he is involved in the foundation.
What is your favourite thing about Leeds?
I love the green spaces especially those close to the city centre; you can’t beat a lunchtime run up to Woodhouse Moor for a couple of laps round the park. Roundhay Park is even better – we just take all these places for granted.
What’s your ideal day out in Leeds?
We like to meet family and friends in the city centre & try new places to eat.
There is so much choice from first class gastro- pubs like the Lamb & Flag to intimate smaller restaurants like My Thai on York Place. I’d like to start attending the concerts in Leeds Town Hall this year too. So good food and inspiring music is what I would choose.
What is the best lesson you have learnt in business?
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Every client is different and doing Private Client work requires a much deeper understanding of both client and family dynamics. Leeds families are more straightforward to deal with and more plain speaking. Good listening skills are essential always.
What single thing do you think could help the city?
As a keen runner I would love to see Leeds have it’s own marathon – starting outside the Town Hall and running through parts of the city which are often ignored. What a catalyst that would be to help regenerate some of the poorer parts of Leeds. If they can do it in London, why not in Leeds?
What inspired you to join the 100 Club?
As a long established Leeds business we place great emphasis on “giving something back” to the places where we are based – the 100 Club just ticks all the right boxes for us and it’s a great opportunity to meet our peers and discuss wider Leeds issues.
What community issues are important to you?
Homelessness and the elderly are the obvious ones. All too often we just focus on how fantastic Leeds is doing as a business centre without appreciating the many social issues that are all around us.
I think the Community Foundation’s work on “isolation” is a great initiative and needs much more support from the business community.
Also, the work done by MENCAP in Leeds is important to me. It does incredible work with families coping with children who have learning disabilities – something close to my heart as my younger brother was born with a mild learning disability.
