Feroze Dada is chairman at Crowe Clark Whitehill (London) and author of Children of the Revolution
CHILDHOOD AMBITION
My ambition was to play cricket for Pakistan. I was advised that playing for an English county or league side would improve my chances for selection to a higher level in Pakistan, so when I was 19 I moved to England. But I wasn’t prepared for the freezing conditions – once, we continued playing through a hailstorm!
FIRST SENIOR ROLE
I qualified at Saffery Champness and joined Robson Rhodes in 1979 as a tax consultant. My job was to help with tax problem solving and generating new tax planning scenarios. This is where the idea of Tax Notes was conceived, a monthly tax update leaflet for non-tax senior staff that was a real success.
GOING IT ALONE
In 1982 I left to set up my own practice. There was space in the market to serve high-net-worth individuals in a sophisticated way, in style and at a reasonable cost.
LIFE OF TRAVEL
I consider myself a citizen of the world: I support the Pakistan cricket team; I savour the food, wine and charm of Tuscany; I consider London the most sophisticated city; and I love the kind and charitable people of Burma.
INSPIRING PERSON
I first went to Burma to meet my wife’s family in 2009 and encountered Major, a freedom fighter and one of the most remarkable people I have ever met.
BECOMING A WRITER
What started out as Major’s story ended up as my book, Children of the Revolution, all about Burma’s struggle for freedom and its extraordinary people. I felt passionate about what I had discovered and the words flowed.
FUTURE PLANS
I hope to bow out gracefully of professional practice and continue my work for The Inle Trust, a charity that supports a Burmese community. What drives me is passion. I’ve never feared doing something completely new.
I captained ICAEW’s cricket side for over 10 years, the highlight of which was arranging the first fixture with HMRC… and winning.
I love to play the guitar and sing with my band, The Tax Pistols.
My current role as chairman is largely ambassadorial, giving me time to counsel clients, advise the board, travel and do charity work.
Being ambitious means nothing if you don’t succeed in achieving your goals. It requires laser-like focus and total commitment.
– See more at: http://economia.icaew.com/people/july-2015/as-i-see-it-feroze-dada#sthash.RYJNn96X.dpuf