Adventures of a Serial Entrepreneur

Book excerpt: An adventure-packed biography of a dynamic entrepreneur, whose exciting career sees him scoring win after win against dangers, setbacks and adversities. Fred sets off on the adventure of a lifetime, surviving a near hurricane in the Navy and seeing parts of the world he could only dream of, growing up in a small Irish town during World War II. Through his life, Fred faces new and exciting challenges: a career in Shell Petroleum leads to his building a highly successful tomato farm and building a privately-commissioned oil refinery, where his plant in Northern Ireland is targeted by bomb plots and death threats. Undeterred by bombs, six-month bank strikes, competitor espionage, and even being held on suspicion of IRA activity, he moves on to launch Atlas Oil International, still trading after forty years. Fred's rollercoaster career changes see him shifting to semi-state Venture Capital Analyst as MD of the Irish Health Services Development Corporation, a stint in the Saudi desert, and a confrontation with the Saudi military commander. When his fortune is severely trimmed in the Lloyd's debacle and the Stock Market crash, he recovers with aplomb, launching Greenman Group and repeating his entrepreneurial success in London and Europe. Still smiling, Fred takes on his biggest challenge yet at 87: writing his larger-than-life story in Adventures of a Serial Entrepreneur: Achievements over Adversity.