Nick de Bois, managing director at Rapiergroup (formerly Rapier Design Group), cries when he watches Casablanca and loves being among women. Describing himself as "an ambitious person who makes things happen and "a people person who loves the big picture, but hates the detail", de Bois comes across as someone who is passionate about the loves in his life - his family, his company, and politics.
De Bois has been at Rapiergroup since the mid-1980s when a chance encounter on a plane led to him being offered a job as an account director for Rapier Design, the exhibition arm of Rapier Associates, which was owned at the time by the Charles Barker Group (CBG).
"I believed the chief executive of CBG was so impressed with my personal skills and expertise that he hired me. But to this day he insists that I talked him to death and he offered me the job to shut me up, he says.
De Bois' entry into the world of exhibitions was preceded by a stint as a PR assistant at the Advertising Standards Authority, following short-lived ambitions to become an accountant or a lawyer. "I had a fascination with Perry Mason, he recalls.
An average performance at school prevented de Bois from going to university.
Instead he went to Cambridge College of Arts and Technology and gained an HND in Business Studies. He then tried to find a job at the height of the recession in the early 1980s. "The only useful thing about that whole period was that my housemates and I were able to wallpaper our student house with all the rejection letters that we got back from big corporations, he says.
By the time de Bois was 30 he was managing director of Rapier Design and in 1990 he and colleague Richard Burden bought out the company from Rapier Associates. Within three months another recession had hit and they were facing bankruptcy. "My understanding of the challenges that face a young business was so sharpened by that, says de Bois.
Two things came out of the blue to keep the company afloat - a client win, and the unexpected delivery of a large cheque from a client which had previously insisted that it wouldn't make progress payments.
"We had no right to this money, explains de Bois. "So I wrote to them and informed them that they had paid us in error and asked what they would like us to do. We didn't hear from them for weeks, but eventually they called and said, 'just keep the money and send us your next invoice'."
A decade on and Rapiergroup has a staff of 73, a swathe of top-notch clients that includes BAE Systems, Renault and Orange, and turnover that is forecast to exceed £16m in the year to March 2003. These are achievements of which de Bois is enormously proud. "It's a lovely feeling to know you have built a business that is providing jobs and security for families, is making an impact in the industry, is viable, and even earns a little bit of respect from your peers, he says.
Outside of work, de Bois dabbles in politics - he stood for the Conservatives in Manchester in the 1997 general election. "I was fed up with the shameful behaviour of a few Tory MPs, and I thought 'put up or shut up'. But the electorate told me to shut up, he says wryly.
Last year he fought the Enfield North seat in the capital but lost by 2,000 votes. "I have to decide whether to stand again or not, he says.
"The trouble is that I'm thoroughly enjoying the business and I think it would be too demanding to do both."
He adds: "I used to think that I had just fallen into this business and loved it. If you try to describe on paper what you do in this job no-one would ever apply to be in this industry - but once you're in, it does get in your blood."
DE BOIS ON ...
Why the industry needs a united force ... This industry doesn't lobby the government well. There are too many competing interests. Some are taking steps to be better organised, but there needs to be a coherent force that will prioritise issues and lobby government.
The future for Excel ... It is a good venue but as with any new facility it is going to take time to sell all its space. The problem is a straightforward management one - too much debt. We missed an opportunity with the Dome, so we should make Excel a success.
How small agencies can survive ... It's the history of firms going into liquidation under questionable circumstances that makes clients wary of small companies. They need to keep a close eye on their finances so they can demonstrate financial stability and gain client confidence.
The return of The London Motor Show ... I am glad they are giving it another go, but there is no question that London is now seen by most of the major dealers as a regional event - albeit an important one.