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James Caan Born Nazim Khan[1][2]
Urdu: جيمس خان
28 December 1960 (age 50)
Lahore, Punjab, West PakistanResidence London, United Kingdom Ethnicity British Pakistani Occupation Entrepreneur Known for Business, Recruitment, Dragons' Den Net worth £70 million[3] Spouse Aisha Caan Children 2 Website www.james-caan.com James Caan (born Nazim Khan on 28 December 1960) is a British Pakistani entrepreneur, investor, television personality, philanthropist and Jenkins expert. He is the founder and CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw, a UK-based but Virgin Island owned private equity company. He also founded Alexander Mann, a multinational recruitment company, and co-founded Humana International, a multinational headhunting firm. Caan joined the fifth series of BBC2’s Dragons' Den in 2007.[4]
Contents
[hide][edit] Early life
James Caan was born in Lahore, Pakistan. His father was Abdul Rashid Caan, a leather worker; he was born into a household of three brothers and three sisters. His father brought the family to the East End of London in 1962.[1] The family settled in a home just off Brick Lane, and Abdul started a business making leather jackets.
In his youth, Caan worked for his father, but he left school without qualifications at the age of 16, and left home shortly afterwards to pursue his ambitions of founding a business. He says his father took a while to offer his full support.
My father never understood why I didn't join the family business. When I opened the 100th global office of my company he said it maybe was the right thing for me to do.
Caan got his first job in the recruitment industry at the age of 18, when he joined Holborn-based Premier Personnel as a trainee interviewer. Within the year he moved to the larger City Centre Staff Bureau as a branch manager, before being headhunted by Alfred Marks, where he became manager of their Oxford Street branch. Finally, Caan settled down in the recruitment department of Reid Trevena, an incentive-driven financial services company.
[edit] Business
[edit] Alexander Mann (1985–2002)
In 1985, after several years investing in his wife's chain of boutiques, Caan decided to found his own recruitment company, Alexander Mann with his close friend Ghufran Ullah Tahir who has done his MSc from Bradford School Management in 2009. In 1992, he appointed Jonathan Wright to run the business and stepped back to develop other business interests. In 1999, he sold a minority stake in Alexander Mann Group for £25m. The business was then valued at £60m by Advent International. In 2002, he sold his majority stake for an unknown amount. At the time Alexander Mann was turning over £130m a year and operating across Australia, Africa, Nigeria, Europe, and Asia.
[edit] Further business (1993–2006)
In 1989, Caan co-founded executive headhunting firm Humana International with Doug Bugie, eventually growing the business to over 147 offices in 30 countries, and launched the trade magazine Recruitment International, with David Head. In 1996, he set up business process outsourcing company Alexander Mann Solutions with Rosaleen Blair. Caan sold Humana International to CDI International in 1999, his stake in Recruitment International to co-founder and editor David Head in 2000, and Alexander Mann Solutions in 2002.
[edit] Hamilton Bradshaw (2003 – present)
In 2003, Caan set up London-based Hamilton Bradshaw, a mid-market private equity company. The Company’s portfolio contains firms in all sectors of industry, although it lists its interests as buyouts, development capital, and turnarounds. In 2006 it bought sandwich shop chain Benjys, which collapsed 9months later into liquidation.[5] In 2007 it bought public and private sector recruitment specialist Eden Brown with revenues at over £180m. The company has already increased profits by 70% through a combination of investment and greater efficiency in the first six months of ownership. The umbrella of Hamilton Bradshaw also includes an executive recruitment company attenti which specialises in recruitment for public and non-profit organisations.[6] At present, Hamilton Bradshaw manages 41 companies, with a combined yearly turnover of £400m, and a real estate portfolio valued at £35m.
[edit] The Big Issue (2009–present)
On 1 December 2009, Caan was invited to become the Chairman of The Big Issue Magazine. This move is hoped to inject the magazine with some entrepreneurial expertise, particularly with a view to bring it into the digital age and launching it in Pakistan.[7]
[edit] The EBA (2010–present)
In March 2010, Caan launched The Entrepreneurs' Business Academy with Bev James. The Entrepreneurs' Business Academy is a unique and highly practical one stop resource for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, providing a range of courses, events and materials that give step-by-step guidance for entrepreneurs on their business journey.
[edit] Media
[edit] Dragons’ Den
In October 2007, James Caan joined the panel of BBC Two's Dragons' Den; to date he has starred in three series. Caan has been characterized in the British media as both the calmest and most sincere of all the Dragons.[8]
In his first series Caan was slow to invest, but after some time he decided to invest in the next product to come into the Den, whatever that would be. The product was a brand of treadmills for dogs called FitFurLife.
I had a feeling the time had come...I decided that I was going to invest in the first thing that came into the Den that day.
As of 2010, Caan invested in 14 companies, spanning multiple sectors; however, he and Duncan Bannatyne have become best known for their investments in the hardware industry, after building successful companies from four Dragon investments, Chocbox, Goldgenie (formerly Midas Touch), Rapstrap, and MagnaMole. Both ChocBox and Rapstrap made £30m international deals within a month of investment.
Shortly before the filming of series 8 Caan was involved in a bitter row with fellow judge Duncan Bannatyne regarding Caan having non-domiciled tax status, which Bannatyne claimed was an unfair advantage.[9] Caan stated in early 2011 that Bannatyne had not spoken to him in 9 months, since the row.[10] Later in the year, Caan hit more controversy regarding his offer to buy a baby from a family in Pakistan.[11]
In January 2011 the BBC confirmed that James Caan had quit the panel.[12] The BBC announced regret over his departure and thanked him for his efforts over this 4 seasons on the show.[12] Clive Morgan of The Daily Telegraph criticised his departure, stating it was 'the show's loss' and that the den 'would not be the same without him.' [13]
[edit] TV Appearances (2007-Present)
Since James Caan's appearance on Dragons' Den in 2007 he has continued to take part in various TV programmes (offering his insight into many different subjects). These programmes include The Money Programme, Daily Politics, Question Time, The Wright Stuff, Bloomberg, GMTV, Comic Relief, Football Focus, The Apprentice, Virgin TV, ITV The Tonight Programme, Richard and Judy, Five News, This Week, Sky News, BBC Saturday Kitchen, CNBC News, BBC Frost All Over The World, BBC Breakfast, and The One Show
[edit] Autobiography
Caan published his autobiography, The Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den, in November, 2008. The title received generally positive reviews and subsequently became a British bestseller. In early 2009 Caan released an audiobook version which received a positive review in New Media Age magazine in May 2009.[14] This coincided with the relaunch of his new official website.
[edit] Government
[edit] Ethnic Minority Business Taskforce (2007-Present)
James was appointed Co-Chair of the Department of Business’ Ethnic Minority Task Force (EMBTF)in June 2007. EMBTF supports over 280,000 businesses, contributing in excess of £20 billion a year to the UK economy Task Force. James is excited about his role as Co-Chair of the Department of Business' Ethnic Minority Task Force. Throughout his career, James has had great success working with entrepreneurial start-ups, and enjoys this sector the most. He relishes in the chance to provide something tangible on this scale, working alongside the Government. As Chair of The Ethnic Minority Business Task Force, Caan presented a report to government outlining the Economic Case for Investment in Ethnic Minority Business.
[edit] The Department for International Development (DFID)
Caan has ongoing dialogue with DFID, addressing the development of education in Pakistan. As part of his work with DFID, Caan travelled to Pakistan in late February 2010 to explore ways in which he can apply his extensive business experience to improve Pakistan’s education system. Whilst in Pakistan, Caan had discussions with representatives from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to learn more about how its £250 million UK aid programme is supporting and addressing education in the country. The programme looks to help five million more children attend school and give 500,000 young people the skills they need to get jobs.
[edit] Business Link
Caan has worked closely with Business Link in an advisory capacity as well as having attended and spoken at a number of Business Link events. Caans’ advisory capacity sees him focussing on how he can draw upon his private sector experience by understanding what the SME community needs to ensure that the deliverables of a project are both achievable and realistic.
[edit] Enterprise UK
Caan continues to champion entrepreneurship in the UK and recent activity has seen him working closely with Enterprise UK. Caan was honoured to open the parliamentary reception of the Government funded campaign ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ run by Enterprise UK during the week of 16 – 22 November 2009, organisations in over 80 countries ran thousands of events to inspire people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. Caan also joined the ‘Flying Start Rally’ and talked to young entrepreneurs about his journey, successes and failures, and how to make it in big in business.
[edit] Rolands Growth Capital Review
In 2009 Caan provided recommendations to The Rowlands Growth Capital Review. The review was to examine whether Government will need to intervene to help Small and Medium businesses (SMEs) access capital for business growth and was led by venture capital expert Christopher Rowlands.
[edit] iawards (2009)
James and Lord Drayson are involved with the iawards, a Government initiative to recognise and celebrate the best British achievements in science, technology and innovation. They are the first awards of their kind to be backed by the British Government, working in partnership with leading entrepreneur James Caan. The inaugural iawards took place at place at The Science Museum on 16 November 2009.
[edit] Personal life
Caan lives in North West London with his wife, Aisha Caan, and two daughters Hanah Caan and Jemma-Lia Caan and owns homes in La Croisette in Cannes, France and a home in Lahore, Pakistan which featured in the May 2009 issue of overseas property title A Place in the Sun magazine.
[edit] Education
James Caan dropped out of school at the age of 16. In 2003 Caan participated in the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. As of July 2009, James was awarded an honorary doctorate (in business administration) from the Leeds Metropolitan University. James was also awarded an honorary degree from the University of East London in November 2009.[15] James will soon receive an honorary doctorate from York St John University later this year.[16]
[edit] Philanthropy
Caan operates his own charity, the James Caan Foundation, which lends aid to the needy in the UK and Pakistan. Caan’s current and past schemes have focussed on helping disadvantaged children get a quality education. Caan is a member of the Prince's Trust Enterprise Team, he actively supported the NSPCC Full Stop charity campaign, and he adopted a school on behalf of the Care Foundation.
It is rumoured that Caan is in discussions with the British Government to launch a multi-million pound project to aid Pakistan’s struggling education system.[17]
Caan originally visited Pakistan on a humanitarian aid trip in 2005, when he built his first independent school in partnership with The Citizens Foundation (TCF) in Lahore. The school currently educates 420 disadvantaged children between the ages of 5 and 11 for free. The Foundation continues to fund the institution and operates a teacher training programme in its premises. Through his role on Dragons’ Den, Caan has worked with the organisation Children in Need. In 2008, CiN filmed a ‘Youth Dragons Den’ in which youngster James Buckley pitched his idea to the Dragons. ‘Look for Loneliness’ was his initiative to help reduce bullying and get children to understand what it is like to feel isolated. Caan went on to work with CiN in 2009, helping to renovate a Community Centre for young people to visit before and after school.
Caan has been working with The Prince’s Trust for several years, supporting them as an ‘Enterprise Fellow’. This involves acting as a role model for younger generations, attending fund-raising events and galas, and involvement in projects which provide support to those with disadvantaged backgrounds.
Caan is a senior advisor to Marie Curie Cancer Care. Caan is also supporting their Daffodil Schools Challenge – Marie Curie Cancer Care’s new active citizenship project.
Caan supports the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge acting as mentor and adviser to the competition’s young hopefuls. The Enterprise Challenge is a national schools competition sponsored by Apax Partners to foster entrepreneurship amongst students through the use of leading enterprise game software and Mosaic’s inspirational business mentors.
In 2008, in aid of Comic Relief, Caan teamed up with his fellow Dragons for a special edition of ‘Victorians Dragons’ Den’. In 2010 Caan joined the Sport Relief team on a four-day philanthropic trip to Kenya in December 2009.
Caan is a supporter of the Chairwoman of Care Foundation. Caan has adopted one of the CARE Foundation’s schools and financially supports the educational needs of over 1000 children every month.
Caan remains a supporter of the work of the NSPCC and, in particular, its FULL STOP campaign. Caans’ personal pledge contributed to the NSPCC reaching its target of £250 million in March 2007.
In March 2010, Caan became chairman of the British Pakistan Foundation (BPF), set up to facilitate public-private partnerships between businesses, state departments, NGO’s and communities in both the UK and Pakistan. These partnerships aim to harness the resources and intellectual capacity of these groups to deliver efficiently and effectively development initiatives for the improvement of socioeconomic conditions in Pakistan.
In July 2010, Caan flew out to Pakistan immediately after the worst flooding in the country's history. His frustration and horror at the scale of the destruction compelled him to physically purchase, prepare and deliver emergency food parcels to starving families in the village of Nowshera.[18] Caan spent over £40,000 of his own personal finances during this four-day trip alone.
On his return and together with the BPF, Caan partnered with UNICEF to provide urgent food, medical supplies and water and hygiene kits to 1000 desperate families. Whilst UNICEF delivered on the ground, Caan undertook an extensive media outreach campaign, speaking on the BBC news, The One Show, CNBC, ITV news and GMTV. His trip was also documented in newspapers all around the country. After just two weeks, Caan had raised £100,000 for UNICEF. The impact of Caan’s coverage was immense and whilst most disaster appeals witness a peak in donations after their first week, Caan was able to generate enough awareness that saw an unprecedented rise in donations in their second week of campaigning. Caan’s work in the media also hugely contributed to the Disaster Emergency Committee's appeal which was running in tandem.
Caan drew criticism when he was caught on camera offering to buy a baby from a family that was a victim of the floods. He offered the family 100,000 rupees (£725) for the baby. He later regretted making the offer, calling it "clearly not the right thing to do".[19]
In the aftermath of the destruction in Pakistan, Caan decided that he, as an individual, wanted to do more.[20] With the James Caan Foundation, he is now undertaking a reconstruction project, where he wants to rebuild an entire village in Pakistan, including schools, hospitals, homes and all infrastructure and water supplies. The project is being endorsed by Prince Charles and the prince’s charities and is supported by the UK government. Aid agencies including UNICEF, Oxfam, Islamic Relief, Muslim Hands and Mosaic amongst many others, are also heavily involved in delivering each facet of the project.
The reconstruction costs around £180,000-£250,000 and will be underwritten entirely by Caan’s Foundation. At present, Caan has committed £100,000 to this project and is also securing sponsorship from large donors and businesses around the country. Passionate media icons including Jemima Khan and Bob Geldof are also actively involved in supporting the project.[20]
In October 2010, Caan will return to Pakistan, meeting with agencies, to identify a village and assess the damage costs, taking the project forwards to the next stage of the reconstruction.
[edit] Name change
In a 2008 BBC documentary, Caan described how going to see the movie 'Godfather', starring the actor James Caan, inspired him to change his name. He believed 'James Caan' better suited the business environment.[citation needed]
I was called Nazim Khan, and it suddenly struck me that I could spell my surname in a different way. I mentioned this to my friends and they started calling me James Caan as a joke. Then I had some business cards printed with my 'new' name on for fun - and somehow the name stuck. Presenting myself as James Caan was a great opener with potential clients, so I used it all the time, eventually changing my name by deed poll some years later, much to my father's disapproval.[1]
[edit] Awards
- Shortlist for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Entrepreneur of the Year (2000)[citation needed]
- BT Enterprise of the Year (2001)[citation needed]
- PricewaterhouseCoopers Entrepreneur of the Year (2003)[citation needed]
- Asian Jewel Entrepreneur of the Year (2003)[citation needed]
- GG2 Leadership and Diversity Man of the Year (2008)[citation needed]
- GG2 Leadership and Diversity Asian Businessman of the Year (2009)[citation needed]
- Star of Pakistan Award by Pakistani Achievement Awards London (2009)
- Honorary Degree from Leeds Metropolitan University (2009)[citation needed]
- Honorary Degree from the University of East London (2009)[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c James Caan, Daily Mail, 20 September 2008, "Why Dragons' Den star James Caan took out a £30k bank loan to win his wife"
- ^ Although some sources erroneously give "Nazim Khant" - eg The Independent, 30 August 2009, James Caan: A dragon in his den
- ^ Evening Standard, 19 November 2008, "Meet the Asian dragons"
- ^ "New Dragon to join the Den". BBC Press Office. 2007-06-15. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/15/caan.shtml. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
- ^ http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/02/06/311382/benjys-collapses-into-administration.html
- ^ http://www.attenti.co.uk
- ^ Bell, Matthew (13 December 2009). "Enter the Dragon, carrying 'The Big Issue' for Pakistan - Press, Media - The Independent". London. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/enter-the-dragon-carrying-the-big-issue-for-pakistan-1839160.html. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
- ^ Bell, Matthew (13 December 2009). "Enter the Dragon, carrying 'The Big Issue' for Pakistan". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/enter-the-dragon-carrying-the-big-issue-for-pakistan-1839160.html. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ Tyler, Richard (12 April 2010). "Dragons' Den row erupts as Duncan Bannatyne refuses to invest with James Caan". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7579134/Dragons-Den-row-erupts-as-Duncan-Bannatyne-refuses-to-invest-with-James-Caan.html.
- ^ Kay, Richard (7 January 2011). "‘I'm out,' says Dragons' Den tycoon James Caan". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344790/Dragons-Den-tycoon-James-Caan-says-Im-out.html.
- ^ "Dragons' Den James Caan 'regrets offer to buy baby'". BBC News. 22 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11605927.
- ^ a b "James Caan to leave Dragons' Den". BBC News. 7 January 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12137331.
- ^ "Dragons' Den won't be the same without James Caan". The Daily Telegraph (London). 7 January 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8246048/Dragons-Den-wont-be-the-same-without-James-Caan.html.
- ^ http://www.nma.co.uk/home/site-inspection/james-caan/3000765.article(subscription required)
- ^ "James Caan, Sir Gulam Noon MBE and West Ham United celebrate Business School graduates success". http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/stories/business-grad-09.htm.
- ^ http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8440437.Dragon___s_Den_star_James_Caan_to_receive_honorary_degree/
- ^ http://www.daily.pk/james-caan-the-pakistani-dragon-12773/
- ^ "James Caan: the Dragon humbled by Pakistan floods disaster". The Daily Telegraph (London). 27 August 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7968856/James-Caan-the-Dragon-humbled-by-Pakistan-floods-disaster.html.
- ^ "BBC News - Dragon James Caan 'regrets offer to buy baby'". 22 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11605927. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
- ^ a b http://www.hellomagazine.com/magazine/
[edit] External links
- James Caan's Official Website
- James Caan Foundation Official Website
- Hamilton Bradshaw Website
- Bio at BBC2's Dragons' Den
- Interview with James in CEO Magazine
- Interview with James in Business Matters
- Silksoundbooks
- James Caan - Chairman of Fresh Egg
- James Caan - Chairman of webrecruit
- Daily Telegraph, 8 October 2008, The Daily Telegraph, How money stopped mattering for Dragons' Den mogul James Caan
- James on BBC London Evening- Pakistan Flood Appeal
- James on CNBC- Pakistan Flood Appeal
- James on BBC Breakfast- Pakistan Flood Appeal
- James on BBC News Channel- Pakistan Flood Appeal
- James Caan- Personal Diary from Pakistan
[hide]v · d · eDragons' Den (UK) Presenter Dragons
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Caan_(entrepreneur)"
Saw him today at the EBA event in london, very impressive, a bit guarded with his energy, not too much time for Q and A, and at these events, they always have to leave, like this was not planned a long time ago, and it is last minute and they are just about able to fit it in. Same thing with Alan Sugar a few weeks back. The compere steps in, I know you need to move on, just a few minutes for questions.Good content though
I read your blog on daily basis. This is really great and informative post. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteRecruitment Entrepreneur James Caan