Serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou spoke glowingly about Norwood’s employment service as he helped the Charity raise an amazing £75,000 at its annual Business Breakfast today. Sir Stelios, founder of easyJet and easyGroup, was guest of honour at the fundraising event, which was held at the elegant Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn and attracted 240 professionals from across the business spectrum.
All the money raised will help Norwood continue to provide life-changing support to thousands of people with learning disabilities, and children and families in need. This groundbreaking work includes its Supported Employment Service, which helps adults with learning disabilities to gain new skills and enter the workplace and was acknowledged by Sir Stelios as ‘a very worthwhile project’.
Promising to ‘make flying as affordable as buying a pair of jeans’, Sir Stelios helped to revolutionise the aviation industry with the creation of easyJet in 1995. Through his umbrella company, easyGroup, he has since launched a range of ‘easy’-branded low-cost business ventures which seek to offer value for money through the high utilisation of assets. Meanwhile, his numerous philanthropic initiatives support entrepreneurship, higher education and environmental sustainability.
Sir Stelios, who was knighted in 2006, told guests how business people should draw on their expertise in order to find innovative ways to ‘give back’. Referring to the difficulties faced by people with disabilities who are looking for paid employment, he said one option to break the ‘vicious cycle’ was to set up their own business.
Speaking about the launch of easyJet, he admitted he had benefitted greatly from the moral and financial support provided by his father, the owner of a shipping company. He then joked: “It’s not that simple, going to a bank when your name is Haji-Ioannou, telling them you want to set up an airline flying from Luton, at the age of 28. That’s a proposition you wouldn’t have even taken to HBOS a few years ago!”
Following his speech, he opened up the floor to questions from guests. Asked to comment on easyJet’s low-cost competitor, Ryanair, he said: “Ryanair is obviously another great success story in the aviation sector. The interesting thing is they’ve chosen a position which I think has risks, because they are trying to say that they are going to be the lowest-cost producer, and use every opportunity to remind people that they are out there to cut every single cost.
“But I think there’s a risk that they will devalue the product so much that the willingness to pay will actually fall below the cost of producing the product. You can’t keep offending your customers like that, every day. Even if they’ve paid for a very low ticket, they still have certain expectations.” He added: “It doesn’t matter that you’re a financially successful, it’s no excuse to be arrogant!
“With easyJet and the brand as a whole, our message is that we are low-cost but with care and convenience, and I think this sums up what more people expect from an airline.”
The event also featured a raffle where two lucky guests walked away with pairs of tickets to Mark Knopfler and Depeche Mode in concert. Meanwhile, £1,500 was bid for a chance to tour Spurs' training facility in Essex with club manager Harry Rednapp.
Event Organiser Sara Parish said: “Sir Stelios is certainly a king of blue-sky thinking and it was fascinating to hear him talk about his career and views on innovation in business and philanthropy. On behalf of the Business Breakfast Committee, I’d like to thank him for donating his time to Norwood and to all our guests for their generous support. The money we raised this morning is vital for the continuation of services which help change the lives of thousands of people with learning disabilities, and children and families in need, each year.”
