Entrepreneur Danny Schweiger shared ‘the good, the bad and the ugly side’ of being a successful CEO at BusinessCloud’s latest roundtable.
The roundtable was organised by MHA and CG and was attended by a panel of leading North West business leaders to discuss the secrets and pitfalls to growth.
Schweiger opened up about his rollercoaster career at Character World, including the impact it had on his mental health and how he now supports and mentors other CEOs.
He was at the helm of Manchester-based Character World for 27 years and grew the business at its peak to £40m turnover and more than 100 staff.
Character World became a global name in the home textile consumer product business in the licensing industry, forging lucrative partnerships with iconic brands including Disney, Minecraft, Fortnite and Manchester United.
Alongside his brother Mark, Schweiger oversaw two private equity-backed management buyouts.
MHA & CG roundtable with Character World co-founder Danny Schweiger
The first MBO was in 2008 with RJD Partners and the second was with Palatine in 2014 for a reported £36m, which signalled an exit for RJD Partners.
Character World was sold to US firm in Bioworld Merchandising earlier this year.
The business won countless awards but Schweiger told the audience on Friday how the pressures of running the business took its toll.
He said: “For most of my career life was a breeze. I’d be on a plane six or seven times a week, attending meetings all over the world, saying ‘yes’ to everything.
“Then one day I was in a meeting and suddenly I couldn’t speak. I went from being able to wing everything to being unable to say my name. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was in the midst of a panic attack.
“I now reflect and realise I was burnt out but the biggest challenge was operating as normal behind the mask while hiding it from the people around me.
“That was definitely the worst part. I didn’t feel I could show my vulnerabilities and share my challenge with anyone.
“Leading a business is very lonely. Every leader is wearing a mask of invincibility. What people don’t see is that behind every mask of every leader is simply a human being with vulnerabilities and weaknesses and, of course, often with the dreaded imposter syndrome.”
Schweiger revealed the coping mechanisms he developed to deal with the pressures on his mental wellbeing and explained how he now draws on those experiences to help CEOs avoid burnout, while also providing a sounding board to help guide leaders toward freedom, transformation, and business success through executive mentoring.
The other panellists taking part in the roundtable were Derry Green, owner, Secret Garden; Dominic Bennett, CEO, Aspire Software; Daniel Ashton, director, KeyGenie; Nick Richardson, founder, The Insights Family; Dave Timmis, founder, Leasing,com; Richard Barnes, commercial director, Furza; Hannah Munro, managing director, ITA; Mark Lindsay, We Do Finance; Kate Burt, founder and CEO, HiveRisk; Rob Richardson, corporate finance partner, MHA; Sean Mitchell, partner (tax), MHA; and Benjamin Dredge, managing partner, CG.
A full report from the roundtable will be published this week.
The post Award-winning entrepreneur opens up about mental wellbeing struggle appeared first on BusinessCloud.
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