Motors Interview: Bill CullenBill Cullen, head of Renault in Ireland for many years, is once again set for new ventures, he tells Conor Twomey,in a wide-ranging interview
Despite the glamour often associated with the car industry, it really is a dour business behind the scenes. Men and women with ashen complexions and grey suits talk about units, profits and market segments but every now and again, amid the gloom and earnestness, you find a character like Dr Bill Cullen.
Cullen is one of Ireland's best-known entrepreneurs, having risen from the tenements of post-war Dublin to eventually become the chairman and owner of Renault Ireland. He's probably best-known for his autobiography, Penny Apples, where he chronicles his upbringing with rich language and entertaining yarn-spinning.
The night before our interview we were scoffing a sumptuous dinner at the Irish launch of the Renault Laguna when Cullen appeared to welcome us to his hotel, and basically work the room.
After the initial chit-chat, the topic of his upcoming space adventure came up. His eyes lit up like a schoolboy on Christmas morning and he began to explain, in detail, the rigorous assessment, training and preparation required for space travel.
He slips Richard Branson, on whose spacecraft Cullen will head to space, and Sigourney Weaver, who loses her bottle and backs out even before she stepped into the high-speed centrifuge, into the conversation as if talking about the weather. Dr Bill Cullen is a high flier and doesn't mind letting you know.
Despite this he is an engaging and charming individual to be around.
He's completely at ease with himself and has a relaxed turn of phrase that belies his ambition and drive. The only problem I have is that you don't so much interview him, as try your best to steer his train of thought.
With Renault poised to take over the role of Irish distributor after 21 successful years with Cullen, I have to know why he's bowing out. "It's not that I'm bowing out of Renault. Renault is bowing me out. I had a contract that renewed yearly for the past 15 years, and they come along and say: 'We're not renewing it anymore and guess what, there's nothing you can do about it. That's it, kiddo. So I'm just moving. I was a retailer, I moved to be a distributor wholesaler, and now I'm moving back to retailing again and in the meantime I've picked up some other businesses along the way."
Apart from his six dealerships, Cullen owns the five-star hotel in which we're sitting, as well as the Europa academy in Swords. "We're training people from Russia, South America and Europe in everything to do with the motor industry. We're training mechanics to be master technicians. Forget about tools, you wear a white coat, rubber gloves and you carry a computer. You diagnose, plot and plan and then someone else might have to do the work. That's it!"
As if that wasn't enough, Cullen also gives motivational seminars, runs business leadership courses and enjoys trying to motivate young people to make their own fortunes. So I wonder why, at this stage in his life, he can't get someone else to do some of that work for him? His answer speaks volumes about how he and his Renault franchise operate.
"I've loads of people I could get to do things for me. I could stand back and let this [ Renault dealer] convention go ahead without me getting involved. But [ the dealers] all give me their speeches for tomorrow. I'll fine-tune them in the next couple of hours, and give them back to them and I'll say: 'There's a few recommendations, now you do what you like.'
Of course, they can't really do what they like. I don't imagine Bill Cullen is a man who's used to having his recommendations ignored.
EVEN THOUGH THE RENAULT gig is over, surely that's not it for Bill Cullen as a car distributor. Surely another company would want to utilise the skills of a man who turned IR£20 million of debt in 1986 into a profitable operation within a few years.
"We have a non-competition clause in the agreement with Renault. Do I want to be a distributor [ again]? No."
"What about a Chinese company?" I enquire. "No interest?"
"I wouldn't say no interest. I know one thing about the motor industry, and that is you have to be passionate about it whether you're a mechanic, or a car salesman or owning the company, and it's very hard to be serving two masters. When I was a Ford dealer, every other car was crap. It took me two years to get my head around the fact that I was [ then] selling Renaults. So after 21 years Renault . . . do I want to get my head around selling something else? I couldn't be a distributor for someone else, and still be [ involved with] Renault. I don't think that would be in my interests. I have been looked upon, and will continue to be looked upon, as Mr Renault in Ireland."
It's a long way from his days as a Ford salesman in the 1950s.
"They gave me a card that said 'William PJ Cullen, Junior Sales Representative'. I changed that. I was the first person in the car business, maybe in any business in 1958, to put my picture on my business card.
"Because I had to. If someone walked in looking for Bill Cullen, they (the other salesmen) would say: 'He's dead. He's on holidays. He's not here, won't be back. He was sacked. But let me sell you a car. . .' So I put my picture on it.
That wasn't the only trick Cullen used on the way to the top. "I found that the real place to sell cars was Aer Lingus. There were 9,000 people in Aer Lingus, all on great wages who could all afford motor cars. Why do I need anything other than to go out there, into the canteen with my business cards?
"I sold my first car to a girl, and do you know what I did? I loosened the screw on the window winder, and I said to her: 'Here's my phone number. Anything goes wrong with the car, don't ring the garage, ring me.'
"Next morning, she rings me: 'Bill, my window winder fell off the door.' I was there in two minutes. Put a bit of glue on it, screwed it in, and it didn't budge again. And she told everyone: 'My car was broken and I rang the fella, and within five minutes he was here and he fixed it for me.' And you can guess what happened after that."
There's no need to guess, of course, but having met the man his story makes a lot more sense to me now. Few people I've ever met have the kind of energy and focus Cullen possesses, even now at pension age, not to mention the ability to captivate and beguile anyone within earshot.
If you think he was a powerhouse as distributor, it will be interesting to see what happens when he becomes more involved in the running of his dealerships. Unsuspecting people will come in to kick a few tyres, meet Bill and end up with two brand-new Renaults on their driveway. He's a born salesman, through and through.