For many, building a top-flight career in the law is a tough enough challenge. But, while doing that, Gordon Oldham also found time to become a successful businessman and entrepreneur, launching high-profile ventures in different fields, the latest of which is The Pavilions, an upmarket chain of hotels and resorts now taking a “quantum leap” by expanding from two to eight properties.
“Initially, I just liked the idea and kind of fell into it,” says the senior partner of Oldham, Li and Nie (OLN), a Hong Kong-based firm specialising mainly in commercial law. “I’m used to wearing several hats and started a first hotel in Bali – 24 stand-alone villas in Sanur. It’s not for the money. My business ventures have always been about doing what I want and what interests me.”
His early exploits, though, gave little indication of a future in either law or business. Having grown up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where his father went into the catering industry after serving with the US Navy in World War II, Oldham left school at the age of 15 with a plan to hitchhike to Afghanistan with his French girlfriend. By the time they reached Turkey, the money ran out, so over the next few years he worked as a petrol pump attendant in France and, back in Newcastle, as a bus conductor, a barman, and even had a bit role in the Michael Caine film Get Carter, to make ends meet.
“I was married and had a son at 18, so I also sold soap made by the blind to save up for my first car, organised security at dances, and sold encyclopaedias until someone told me it was a scam.”
Accepted by Newcastle Polytechnic for a general degree in economics, philosophy and law, he found his calling and soon switched to just law, liking the structure, precedents and disciplined thinking it provided. In the first week of the first term, he also met a fellow student from Hong Kong who was quick to talk up the endless opportunities the city offered.
From that point on, Oldham knew where his future lay and duly battled through the seven years of study, law school exams and training as an articled clerk in Washington, County Durham, before making the move.
“I was up for adventure, but I owe a lot to that friend who gave me the idea and encouragement and still sends me newsletters.”
He arrived in Hong Kong in 1978 with an introduction to a leading local law practice, Philip KH Wong & Co, and began as the odd-job man handling a mix of civil, criminal and conveyancing cases. Two years later, he was made partner in charge of litigation.
“In those days, judges were a little more robust and dispensed justice a little quicker. Now, the time we have to wait is ridiculous and embarrassing: justice delayed is justice denied.”
By 1987, though, everything pointed to opening his own firm, which is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary in October.
“I never wanted to grow it to a huge size,” he says. “Being a lawyer is good for producing income, but not for longer-term wealth creation. So, in parallel, I started to look at other businesses, building them up, and selling them off. I was in a fortunate position where I could keep my ear to the ground and see how to get things done locally.”
An early foray was into publishing Chinese-language editions of Forbes and Playboy, which also gave a windfall gain from a timely property sale. He next launched half a dozen lifestyle magazines, including Action Asia and Asia Spa, which were sold to a publishing group in Singapore six years ago. For a while, he bought into jewellery retailer John Hardy. And, in the early 1990s, he was in right at the start of MTV Asia before selling his stake to a couple of some heavyweight investors.
“That was the most exciting project,” Oldham says, “I went to the Gobi desert to see a satellite launch and, as a customer, took transponders covering from Japan to Tel Aviv. I met MTV in Los Angeles and persuaded them to supply video content. We didn’t know who would be watching, but we started getting feedback from oil rigs in the South China Sea – and everywhere else – saying they liked Madonna and what we were doing.”
The secret to success, he says, whether as senior partner in a firm with 35 lawyers or in a business venture, is to have good people. And, specifically as an entrepreneur, it is to realise when the time is right to hand over the reins.
“It’s got to be done,” he says. “The two biggest reasons for business failure are lack of wherewithal to achieve targets and lack of proper management. Too many companies falter when the entrepreneur reaches his or her ceiling of competence.”
Within that cycle, though, The Pavilions still has a long way to go. The wellness resort in Bali and a hotel in Niseko in Japan’s Hokkaido will be followed by properties in Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Phuket and Nepal, which are now at various stages of development. The vision is to offer something new and exciting in terms of hospitality, IT and relaxation.
“When I was younger, they didn’t have a thing called work-life balance,” Oldham says. “Now, I love doing things like searching for ceramics on sunken Chinese boats off Indonesia, exploring in Ladakh and Bhutan, or getting involved with Action Asia events. So, I’m still having some fun and believe that if you want to do something, you shouldn’t put it off.”
TAKE IT FROM ME
Gordon Oldham’s career advice
Find the right job “Love what you’re doing and believe in it. Then it won’t seem like work, you won’t mind doing 18 hours a day.”
Be clear-headed “Be open to change, but at the same time be careful because there are always people ready to naysay new initiatives.”
Plan ahead “To me, the greatest sin is wasting time, which is a finite resource. It doesn’t mean you have to be constantly active, but you should have plans and ideas.”
Respect the structure “As an entrepreneur, I don’t necessarily like company rules, but I acknowledge the need for having them.”
Think of the important things “At the end of the day, money is just a means to an end, so don’t become a lawyer just because you think it is well paid. It seems me some young people are too serious about wanting to get rich and feel far too entitled.”
(Photo: Gary Mak)
This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Leisure principle.
