Основатель Belron Гари Любнер отказался от титула лорда и пообещал пожертвовать 95% своего состояния

The Lubner family was crucial in building automotive glass giant Belron from humble SA roots to a global giant worth about €40 billion. Gary Lubner, who retired as CEO in 2023, led the company for about 23 years. He reflects on his journey. - For CEO interviews, visit Bruce Whitfield’s podcast “So, you think you want to be a CEO?” The real power of being a CEO is using your position “wisely and humbly”, and using it to create change – not just in your business but in the world at large. Gary Lubner, now retired CEO of the international automotive glass giant Belron, believes every leader at one point or another has “imposter syndrome”, asking themselves: “How the hell did I get into this position?” In the end, being a CEO is not about having all the answers, but being aware of what you’re good at, and what you’re not good at. In his 20 years as CEO, Lubner helped build Belron from a company with a turnover of €40 million to €1 billion, with more than 37 000 employees and businesses all over the world – including Carglass in most of Europe; Safelite in the US; Autoglass in the UK; and Speedy Glass in Canada. The roots of Belron are in South Africa, with Lubner’s grandfather, Morrie, having partnered with the Brodie brothers to expand PG Glass from a Cape Town business started in 1897. Morrie pushed a wheelbarrow full of glass to furniture makers in Johannesburg and worked his way up to chairperson of the board. Later, Lubner’s father and uncle were also heavily involved in the business. Belron no longer owns PG Glass, however. Belron was named after Bella, Morrie’s wife, and one of his sons, Ronnie (Gary’s father), who later became Belron CEO. Lubner became CEO in 2000, and was crucial in expanding the Belron businesses from the UK to Europe and the US. Today, Belron is on the verge of an initial public offering, with Amsterdam’s Euronext one of the possibilities for the listing in late 2026 or early 2027. A valuation of between €30 billion and €40 billion is possible. When he retired, an “outsider”, former Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito was appointed as Belron’s CEO. Lubner admits that Brito – who led the beer giant during the acquisition of SABMiller – didn’t at first feel like a natural fit as his successor. However, Brito shares his people-centred values and has experience leading a listed company, which is essential for the next phase of Belron’s existence. Interestingly, at one stage, SAB had a stake in Belron. While the Belron profit growth under Lubner was spectacular, it was never only about making money, he told Bruce Whitfield on the latest edition of the podcast “So, you think you want to be a CEO?” Listen to it for free on Iono: “I never, ever focused only on the profit number – my thing was always, if you look after your people, if you look after your customers, if you look after the society you’re from, whether that’s giving back to local communities, the environment – if you do those things really, really well, and I mean world-class, the numbers come out of that. The numbers for me were always an outcome, never a purpose, never a target.” People need Belron’s businesses when they’re not at their best – when a car windshield or window is smashed in an accident or because of crime. This made Lubner realise that, while the technical skills for fixing car windows were certainly important, technicians also needed people skills. Lubner says attitude and empathy were much harder to teach than technical skills, and he changed the company’s model of recruitment, focusing on “people who love people”. In 2023, as one of his last acts as CEO, Lubner enacted the “Belron Thank You”, paying each and every employee the equivalent of €10 000 in cash and shares, reflecting his awareness that the people “on the ground doing the work”, often unnoticed, were the unsung heroes of the company. Every person who had been in the company’s employ at least six months received the payout, with no conditions attached. Today, Lubner runs his charity, This Day Foundation, with the mission to spend his fortune doing good. As his wealth grew, he became more and more “uncomfortable” with it. He has pledged to give away 95% of his fortune in his lifetime, saying he wants to do something today, instead of accumulating more money to spend at a later stage, as some foundations do. The foundation supports multiple charities in SA and the UK, including the youth empowerment non-profit Afrika Tikkun. He himself has been one of the biggest donors to Britain’s Labour Party and has received significant criticism for it in light of the party’s leadership struggles. He does not regret his donation and continues to support Labour, believing it offers the best chance for improving life in Britain. He doesn’t expect recipients of his money to do everything perfectly all the time – that is too simplistic. “You know, the good thing, I think ... both in charity and in a political sense, my gifts are pretty much unconditional – I don’t give and then expect something in return. I give and expect the world to become a better place, one way or another.” Asked by Whitfield if he would like to become “Sir Gary”, Lubner says “absolutely not”. “I don’t want to be a lord. If I’m offered that, I’ll turn it down. I’m not doing this for the honour.” He adds: “You might not agree with my politics, but I hope you can agree with wanting to make this place a better place for our kids and our grandkids.” The podcast “So, you think you want to be a CEO?” is sponsored by Discovery Bank.