Talk:James Hanson, Baron Hanson

Topics
How is "the personification of Tory sleaze" NPOV? RickK 19:39, 25 Oct 2003 (UTC)
 * hmmm, someone seems to have taken your question to heart; the phrase isn't on the page anymore rewinn 03:45, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

Lk disambig
I replaced the disambig info at top of article with lk to disambig page for similarly-named people, since there are now several notable people with similar-sounding names. rewinn 03:45, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

I question the description of Lord Hanson as an ´Industrialist´
I was at one time an employee in the Hanson empire. Amongst employees, Hanson was not viewed with respect as an innovator, or as a creative individual in any way. Even before Hanson´s bid to take over ICI, Hanson was classed in the same league as scrap metal merchants, or to put it more politely, an ´asset stripper´.

A good example of an industrialist would be Henry Ford, who pioneered new ways of mass assembly. Hanson´s early training was in accountancy, and only accountancy profit values drove Hanson. He was not, in any way, shape or form, interested in innovation.

Therefore I do not believe that Hanson should be described as an Industrialist.

I am not alone in this appraisal:

¨But Martin Dickson, in the Financial Times, was critical of Hanson's legacy. He was certainly a "brilliant businessman", but not the great industrialist portrayed in obituaries. "The term industrialist suggests an innovative spirit who cares for the sectors in which he invests and builds businesses organically," said Dickson. This was never the case with Hanson, and he is better remembered as a specialist "in the trading of corporate assets". ¨

Source: Guardian Newspaper, author Nicholas Faith Thursday November 4 2004. Title: Pundits appraise the Hanson legacy