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Bill Pollock

Robert William "Bill" Pollock (born 28 October 1928) is Canadian-born businessman, investor. The sole proprietor of global human resources company Drake International. Established in Winnipeg in 1951, Drake operates in 12 countries. Bill Pollock is the [https://www.afr.com/technology/bill-pollock-the-world-s-longest-serving-ceo-20210903-p58ooz#:~:text=Bill%20Pollock%20has%20been%20the,technological%20growth%20in%20human%20history. world's longest serving CEO]. He takes his Chairman and CEO roles very seriously, involved in day to day operation of the business. Bill is also actively involved in some businesses that he invested in. He loves to travel to visit his offices dividing time between Los Angeles, Melbourne, Toronto and Monte Carlo which he calls his home.

During 1960s Bill Pollock has met a young Jack Cowin, founder of Hungry Jack's and now chairman of Domino's Pizza. Bill invested $10,000 into Mr Cowin business idea, which evolved into the billion-dollar competitive foods conglomerate in Australia.

Bill is chairman of the Aquiess Global company using weather modification technology to bring rain in northern Kenya, Somali and Ethiopia. Bill has invested significantly in the company lead by founder David Miles.

Young President's Organisation (YPO) was brought to Europe and Australia by Bill, he was 26 years of age and organisation had only 325 members when he has joined to create global organisation for entrepreneurs like himself.

In 2000 Bill obtained controlling stake of E-business Australia and become chairman. Company's key feature TimeControl was designed by founder Tony Clement.

In 2007 Bill sold his interest in education company Laureate Education which led him to classify into America's 50 Richest Paydays. Laureate Education Inc was operating a network of 24 Universities at that time and agreed to be acquired for $3.8 billion by a group of private investors led by company's chief executive and chairman Douglas L. Becker.

In 2015 Bill has met George Lipinski co-founder of iStudent Magazine, together duo founded Australian technology company Xcellerator pty ltd providing with technology solution - marketplace for international education called MeStudent to revolutionise recruitment of international students.

Early life and education
Robert William Pollock was born in Winnipeg, Canada during the Great Depression. The youngest of nine children his Polish father was blue-collar railroad worker immigrated to Canada with his wife from Austria.

While at school Bill entered the armed services under the national compulsory cadet's scheme. He was set to enter the Royal Canadian Air Force when World War II ended.

Bill's determination to save small amounts of money from his mother in order to enjoy the privilege of using a paid washroom, highlights his longing for a sense of exclusivity and the desire to experience the nicer things in life, no matter how modest they might seem to others. This experience (one of many) likely shaped his perspective and values as he grew older, emphasising the importance of even the smallest comforts and the value of hard-earned privileges.

As his brothers immigrated to United States he was staying with his sisters in Canada. Bill approach and attitude to women was shaped since his early days as he respected his sisters very much. Later in life this helped him to introduce and pioneer introduction women into the workforce, when he might get phone calls from angry husbands asking to send their wife home.

At the age of 16 he has won scholarship to University of Manitoba to study commerce where he was attending classes with "smart kids" because of which he was not tough how to type. Later on he would regret it as computer era has started and to not being left behind Bill had to develop his own abbreviation table system allowing him to type fast just by using two fingers.

Business career
Bill started his first business during school, a lawn mowing company that grew to 22 employees by the time he sold it after finishing his degree.

Cofounding Drake International in 1951 with his partner Jim Shore who died in plane accident.

Prior to co-founding Drake International Bill established a university magazine called Enterprise before graduating in 1949 with a Bachelor of Commerce at age 20. Like many start-up businesses, the seeds of success were born from failure. Pollock could not find a job. He was working after university for a company that went broke and he could not pay his wages.

Bill's first business was mowing people’s lawns. By the end of his final summer at university, Pollock was employing 23 people. He was offered a job following graduation but negotiated to stay with his lawn-mowing business for another year. In 1950 he sold the business for a profit. It continued cutting people’s grass successfully for another 20 years.

In 1995, Drake Prometric was purchased by Sylvan Learning, after which Drake became the largest shareholder in Sylvan. With the purchase, Bill Pollock, Chairman of Drake International, became a member of the board. The company evolved over time and is today known as Laureate, an organization that invests in private universities on a very large and international scale.

Starting Drake
Pollock struck up a friendship with fellow Canadian, Jim Shore. The two met at the Burroughs Corporation (now called Unisys), which specialised in developing business finance booking systems. The two young men decided to set up their own outsourcing business that provided staff at peak load times; a business with the reputation for providing a crisp, clean, quality service. In 1951 Drake was born.

Drake is best known for changing the post-WWII landscape, by bringing housewives and mothers back into the workforce at a time when married women going back to work was seen as scandalous.