David

"eBay now stood a real chance of reclaiming payments and each change it made sent executives—particularly Thiel and Sacks—into paroxysms of anger. “David and Peter would get totally hysterical and say things like They can’t do this! and How dare they?” an executive observed. “And we’re like, ‘It’s their platform. They can do whatever they damn well want.’"

"“When I was in my upper twenties, the managing partner of O’Connor said, ‘David, we want to make you the global head of the fixed income and derivatives division of the bank,’ ” Solo recalled. “And I remember saying, ‘… that’s great, but don’t you think you’d be better off hiring somebody from Salomon Brothers who actually knows all this stuff?’ And [he] said, ‘You know what, we might actually lose nine months or a year by not hiring the guy who has more experience, but in the end, we’ve always succeeded by betting on the people who we think have the talent and work ethic—and who we know.’ ”"

"eBay now stood a real chance of reclaiming payments and each change it made sent executives—particularly Thiel and Sacks—into paroxysms of anger. “David and Peter would get totally hysterical and say things like They can’t do this! and How dare they?” an executive observed. “And we’re like, ‘It’s their platform. They can do whatever they damn well want.’ ”"

"“Peter, I think that this is a brilliant move, but I just hope you understand what it means.” I said, “Of course. It’s going to make us the biggest industrialists in Canada, and eventually maybe in the world.” And David replied, “And it’s also going to make you the slave of every fourth-rate car dealer you have to suck up to when they’re signing up an order for the next model—which I have done for six years of selling Clairtone sets. It's not my idea of a good way to spend the rest of my life."

"I had the prospectus of Roberts Realty, so we knew where their sales office was in London. David was articulate, smart and elegant; he looked rich, and he talked rich. He went to the Roberts office and got all the sales information we needed. That was tremendously helpful to me back at Prince Arthur Avenue when I designed the sales program. With the Roberts information as a model I knew what to do: the prices, how to structure the lots, the size of the lots, plus of course Project Planning information about design, and information about the marketing from Gilmour. After the second time he was at the Roberts sales office he asked the salesman out for lunch and got out of him the commission structure, the overhead structure, the whole marketing approach. It only took us a week. We got the whole Roberts structure. I was working with Cochran, Murray. It was very rough going. They could have raised $2 million. That would have been a wild gamble; but $4 million was the minimum. I could not do it for less. I could not take a chance, after what I'd gone through with Clairtone, to be short a million bucks. I just couldn’."

"Peter Munk explains the interrelationship between the Swiss— Canadian proposal and the Fiji development project: I said to David, “Whichever gets financed first, we'll go with. An idea is good only if it’s financeable. ’'m going to work my guts out in both of them, but within eighteen months, I’ve got to have a job, I’ve got to work and not just promote. So whatever comes first, the other will get thrown out.” Fiji got financed first, because of Gilmour's contacts. So we dropped Swiss—Canadian and focused totally on the Fiji proposal. The concept of securitized mortgages, especially with government guarantees, was exciting, but it was just too difficult to get an underwriting. Also, Roberto Gancia was very rich, so for him the pressure was less."

"After Clairtone, Peter Munk would not do a deal unless he had control of the operation—even if he did not have the required 50percent-plus shares. That was the situation with Fiji and it is the situation with his business ventures now, in the mid-1990s. Birchall explains the Fiji control arrangements: Control has always been achieved on an equitable basis. So far as initial SPP was concerned, when we got the original funding from Slater Walker, Peter and David probably had about 35 percent of the company. And, let’s say, Slater Walker another 25. It was also understood that Slater Walker was going to sell off to other institutions like P & O and the rest. So the objective there was always going to be that Peter and David would not have a large-percentage shareholding but they would have control. I was responsible for preparing monthly management. statements that were sent to all"

"It’s David’s role to explore and help create new business ventures that are true to our strategic vision and to further the dialogue with a prospective business partner. If things advance to a second conversation, David and I then discuss the…"

"*I’d just read a book about the Iban tribe, who used to be renowned as head-hunters, so I told this guide that we wanted to go and find this tribe. He got hold of someone, who knew someone else and within a couple of days we were on a chopper going way up a river. There was no helicopter pad, so while we hovered the local men hacked back the foliage to clear a space for us to land. Most of the villagers had never seen a helicopter and were soon throwing blood all over the ground for reasons that were unclear. We lived in one of their longhouses for a couple of days and it was magical. Alan was twice as tall as anyone there, but these guys were wiry. In their canoes a couple of wrinkly men pulled us upstream with incredible strength. We ate fish on the banks, but midway through our meal had to leap into the river to avoid a swarm of bees coming through.* *We lay fully submerged breathing through pieces of bamboo. At the dinner that night in the longhouse Alan was given 50 bowls of food, since* *he was the top man. I got 20. Every now and then Alan would look at me and say, ‘I can’t believe I pay you a salary to do this.’ And he had a point; I’ve never laughed as much as when I’ve been with Alan. He’d have me on: ‘David, if ever we get into a situation where it’s life and death, you know you’re the sacrifice. I’ll be nice to your parents.’ We never ran into serious trouble. He was a young 56, cutting loose with energy to burn and such a passion to extract everything possible from life. We’d have an incredible experience and then a few minutes later I’d hear the inevitable, ‘OK, what’s next?’*[12](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477351-409220225-12)"

"Our Lost Explorer Mezcal is all about curiosity, seeking inspiration and enjoying the life journey. David and I are both motorbike fanatics and our love of the open road allows us to discover new experiences and cultures. In Mexico, David and I arrived in the agave fields deep in the countryside at dusk with Fortino, a master mezcalero. We decided to produce a special artisanal mezcal together and I remember Fortino showing us where he was going to plant the agaves. As the sun went down, it seemed a magical landscape, deep in the middle of authentic Oaxaca. We tweaked the recipe and came up with a spirit we are really proud of. Our new beverage is about trying new things, being bold and not being afraid to step out of one’s comfort zone to discover what you need to evolve and progress in life. We are advertising The Lost Explorer Mezcal under the tagline ‘Get Lost,’ with a narrative encouraging consumers to find themselves by first getting lost in new adventures. The call is for consumers to live and sip curiously. Mezcal is currently the fastest-growing spirits category in its target markets, and we believe it can replicate what tequila has achieved in the past decade. Mezcal is all about adventure, exploration and discovery, and our target customers are consumers who are naturally more curious. It also epitomises my own journey, since my first business venture was in beverages all those years ago in Russia. It’s all about curiosity – that fundamental human trait that makes us discover the world and keep evolving in life. This is the stated mantra of the company and something that resonates very deeply with me. Curiosity about the world around me is what drives my thirst for new ventures in faraway lands or ground-breaking technology and the adventure that goes with them. Embracing change by venturing into the unknown has become an intrinsic part of my life. It is now tim"