Ian Powell

BA (Hons) Economics, 1977

Former Economics Student and now Chairman of PriceWaterHouseCoopers Chairman (UK)

As head of the UK arm of the world’s biggest accountancy firm, it’s hard to believe Ian Powell never had a career plan.

But the PricewaterhouseCoopers Chairman insists his success is down to seizing every opportunity that has been presented to him. In 1977, Mr Powell joined Pricewaterhouse, before it merged with Coopers, as a trainee after graduating from what was then Wolverhampton Polytechnic. He stayed with the firm and has worked his way up to the helm. Last year, the other 850 UK partners of the firm voted him in as Chairman. With £2.5 billion revenue in the UK alone and 15,000 staff, PwC, as it is known, is number one among the accountants by revenue and people. And Mr Powell is relishing his role as Britain’s top accountant. The firm is also the number one graduate employer and continues to create opportunities, despite the economic downturn.

Sedgley-born Mr Powell, a father-of-four, enjoys coming back to the region, where his mother and sister still live, and taking his boys to watch his team West Bromwich Albion. He has fond memories of his upbringing and is proud of his Black Country roots.

“I look back on my childhood like so many people do – always sunny, playing football. These are the things you remember.”

He also values the time he spent in Wolverhampton as a student. “I had a really good time. Although I was local we lived in a flat in Tettenhall. There was such an interesting mix of people from everywhere – Zimbabwe, Brunei, Greece.

“I really enjoyed my economics course. It was very academic and gave me a good background and understanding. I can remember my lectures with David Hafide and Professor John Trudgill.”

He also credits the region with sparking his interest in manufacturing when he worked for PwC in Birmingham and saw how companies such as Goodyear worked.