皇家华人

How motor racing boss Adam Parr found a new direction through UCL.

At the age of 48, Adam Parr signed up to do a PhD at 皇家华人. Given he鈥檚 best known as the former chief executive and chairman of the Williams Formula One team, this may seem surprising. But Adam has never let himself be defined by any one role.听

In fact, he has fearlessly forged his path through different industries 鈥� pursuing his passions and taking opportunities which have come his way, provided they fit with his personal outlook. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to do stuff for the sake of it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f in five years time I can look back and say, I鈥檝e made a real difference then I鈥檒l be very happy. That鈥檚 my number one goal.鈥澨�

Variety is the ...

Adam embraces change. Since graduating from Cambridge University in 1987, he鈥檚 held top positions within the fields of investment finance, law and sport, and now, education.听

Starting his career with investment bank Barclays de Zoete Wedd in London and Tokyo, Adam then moved to global mining group Rio Tinto, where, over 11 years, he worked in senior executive, operational and corporate positions across London, Australia and South Africa. During this time he also undertook his law training at the Inns of Court School of Law 鈥� now known as The City Law School 鈥� in London.听

In 2006, Adam was approached by Sir Frank Williams CBE, founder and team principal of the Williams Formula One team, to take over as chief executive and chairman, leading a team of around 500 people. A curveball for sure, but a challenge Adam relished.听

鈥淲hen I鈥檓 asked what鈥檚 been my favourite role in my life so far, it鈥檚 difficult,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 always enjoy what I do but I think running a Formula One team is top of the list. Not for the obvious reasons, but because it鈥檚 actually really rough stuff 鈥� it鈥檚 brutal!

鈥淭he downside is that you鈥檙e very much in the public eye 鈥� it鈥檚 like having a job review every two weeks in front of up to 80 million people. I used to come home and my grandparents used to say 鈥榳ell you did a pretty lousy job last weekend鈥�. And they鈥檙e in their nineties!鈥�

In 2012, Adam left Williams, inspired to tell the world about his experiences. He wrote The Art of War 鈥� Five Years in Formula One and co-authored Total Competition 鈥� Lessons in Strategy from Formula One with Ross Brawn.

A passion for learning

After 25 years of working, Adam took a year out to assess his next move. He鈥檇 always loved learning and after a fortuitous conversation with his former Cambridge tutor, Professor Lisa Jardine, Adam decided it was the perfect time to pursue a PhD.听

Lisa was in the process of moving to UCL, so Adam decided to join her here and take his PhD in eighteenth-century history and literature. He says:

鈥淭o be able to do something which just depends on you and your brain is very liberating, challenging and fun. If at some point in your career you find yourself with some time and money, then just do it. It鈥檚 a wonderful experience 鈥� especially at 皇家华人! Choosing a good subject and having great supervisors are really important factors though. In this case, UCL had the ideal make-up.鈥�

Lisa sadly died of cancer in 2015 鈥� just two months before Adam was due to submit his PhD thesis. 鈥淟isa was an amazing supervisor and overall we had 30 years of friendship. If I take any advice from her it鈥檚 to listen to your supervisors on every angle of your work. Lisa also insisted that you write first and then discuss your work, which forced me to put pen to paper.鈥澨�

Adam has always felt a strong connection to UCL so any time he鈥檚 been able to give back to the community, he鈥檚 taken the opportunity. In 2018, he was part of a panel for the UCL Connect: Engineering the Future event, and spoke to students about the factors that are shaping careers in this vibrant sector.听

As he wasn鈥檛 able to attend the graduation ceremony for his undergraduate degree, Adam was delighted when he was asked to graduate and at the same ceremony speak to the 250 students graduating in September 2019. Giving up his time to inspire new graduates at the ceremony, Adam describes as being both a pleasure and an honour.

To maintain his involvement with UCL into the future, Adam has been keen to lend his skills to our new Strategy for a Sustainable UCL. He says: 鈥淚鈥檝e been involved in thinking about sustainable development and climate for years, and there鈥檚 such an amazing community here at 皇家华人 for climate action. I鈥檓 hoping there are going to be more opportunities to take people鈥檚 research from around the university and make it happen.鈥澨�

Change is about people

One of the questions that Adam gets asked the most is: how can you step from one industry to another? His answer is that it鈥檚 all about your network.听

鈥淚f there鈥檚 something you鈥檙e interested in, find someone who鈥檚 in that world and ask them how they got into it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about learning what people enjoy about their job. And if you get on really well with the individual, you might find that they naturally ask you about working in their field or for the company they work in.鈥澨�

For any person looking to change their career path, Adam also believes in being realistic about the concept of the 鈥榠deal job鈥�. He says: 鈥淚t probably doesn鈥檛 exist. So when it comes to changing points in your career, try to get lots of offers then choose between them, instead of waiting for your ideal job to arrive.鈥�

Looking to the future

Adam is currently at a transitional point himself. Recently, he published his third book based on part of his PhD, The Mandate of Heaven 鈥� Strategy, Revolution, and the First European Translation of Sunzi鈥檚 鈥楢rt of War鈥� (1772). He says: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an amazing story 鈥� a priest writing a book on strategy and why he did it, how he did it and the impact. He changed the course of history as a result.鈥澨�

He鈥檚 also been working as an adviser for global resources company BHP, investing in technology start-ups 鈥� including four spin-outs from the University of Oxford 鈥� and teaching at the University of Western Australia鈥檚 business school.

Work is never really typical for Adam Parr. Above all though, he sees himself as an active participant in the fight against climate change. He says: 鈥淚 feel like if climate isn鈥檛 your day job, it should be your afternoon or evening job. It鈥檚 not going to get addressed if people don鈥檛 do things differently... or stop doing things. So I think we really have to get our minds around the fact that it鈥檚 a time of change. We need urgent action, so perhaps the F1 experience will help.鈥�

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