The ability to bake your business over a longer period of time and become a stronger public company is therefore critical and is a driver for why they list with us.

From fighter-pilot, to test-pilot to astronaut was a logical sequence for a guy that loves aviation. I was very fortunate.

From a financial standpoint, it was roughly 12 to 13 years before I felt secure enough to draw a consistent annual salary. Up until that point, there was always an undercurrent of uncertainty. It wasn't until 12 to 13 years in that I felt we had the financial resilience to withstand these challenges.

I think there is huge volatility in short-term investing. If we keep a long-term perspective in mind, we will go through the good cycles and the bad cycles and reach the other side. Short-term vision does not allow one to build better businesses and create value.

There is a biological force within your body that wants you to live to old age… you could call it your immune system, or your biological soul!

It's very clear that the sole purpose of business is not just to make money for shareholders, but actually to look after their employees, their communities and their society. Businesses play a role in society, and they have a voice which they have to use. Silence is not an option.

According to Global Witness, 4 environmental activists are killed somewhere in the world each week, predominantly in Latin America but also in Africa and Asia. These are individuals doing everything from defending water, land and forests to the rights of indigenous communities.

Everyone in a high functioning organisation is simultaneously a teacher and a student. They will have been taught by others, and will be teaching others.

Fundamentally, we must slow-down the process of change. We should recognise that most change is not progress- and therefore, it is in our interests to slow down without interfering too much with actual solution making.

Over this 99.9% of human existence, when technology advances, population advances and counterbalances any potential increase in human prosperity. Suddenly once technological progress reaches a tipping point, families start to invest in education, they economise on the number of children, and technological progress is converted into richer people rather than into more people.

Western societies have to heed the strategies of the east where innovation and progress are fundamental parts of their attitudes to business. Japanese carmakers built their sustainability from their constant ability to innovate rather than being cheaper.

It's clear to me that small businesses, particularly micro-enterprises, have been responsible for the majority of the gross job creation in the last five years… particularly through the recession.