Dick Skipworth, founder of Memec, which became the third largest distributor in the world before being taken over by Avnet, is the subject of an amusing tale by Memec's long-time CFO, Colin Stevens.
"We used to have a business in the computer repair area called Computer Repair Centre which had contacts with a Canadian company which was looking to take it over", recounts Stevens, "Dick and I went over to see the people who ran the Canadian company."
"The boss was a larger-than-life sort of chap", remembers Stevens, "Dick gets very swept up by people like this, and goes along with it all, and almost starts talking in the same accent."
"'What's your name?' he asked Dick."
"'Skipworth', replied Dick."
"The Canadian looked puzzled", remembers Stevens, "North Americans often have difficulty with Dick's name, and Dick added: ''But my friends call me Skip'."
"'In this country', replied the Canadian, 'skips are full of rubbish.'"
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