James Hughes-Hallett, who died last month aged 70 after a long illness, was an extraordinarily able and extraordinarily humble businessman and philanthropist.
He chaired John Swire & Sons (2005-2015), the Courtauld Institute (2012-2017), Clarksons (2015-2018) and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (2005-2019).
He was also a main board director of HSBC Holdings (2005-2014) and a governor of SOAS (2005-2010).
Hughes-Hallett was the first chairman of Swire Shipping’s UK parent company to be chosen from outside the shareholder base since the firm began in 1816. He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2012.
‘Incredibly fortunate’
Barnaby Swire, who succeeded him as chairman of John Swire & Sons, said his firm had been “incredibly fortunate” to have had Hughes-Hallett at its helm for so many years.
While Hughes-Hallett’s responsibilities and interests were wide-ranging, his professional heart was, arguably, in shipping.
In addition to leading Clarksons and John Swire & Sons, he chaired the Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association, Swire-owned China Navigation Co and Swire Pacific Offshore.
Hughes-Hallett had a talent for assessing, in shipping investments, the tricky but crucial balance of risk and reward and then summarising this in impeccable English.
As a manager, he was a popular man who combined intelligence with integrity, loyalty, an easy charm, pragmatism and warmth.
He was also a mentor to others who sought to learn from his rare (among chief executives) combination of listening rather than preaching, promoting the cause rather than himself, diligence and constant care.
He read insatiably and maintained a great curiosity about the world. A very private man, he planned carefully but could also be joyfully spontaneous and had a wonderful sense of humour.
After qualifying as a chartered accountant in the UK, Hughes-Hallett began his shipping career in 1976 in Hong Kong, joining Swire Shipping Agencies as a canvasser of cargoes for Overseas Containers.
Thereafter, he rose up Swire’s ladder with stints in Taiwan, Japan and Australia (which included responsibility for Papua New Guinea) before returning to Hong Kong.
After proving his mettle in shipping, he worked in a number of other industries in the Swire Group before being appointed overall chairman of Swire and Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong in 1999.
Hughes-Hallett was full of stories against himself and always made light of his stellar rise, for example claiming that his only achievement as manager for west Japan at Cathay Pacific was to change the design of the butter pack (on outgoing flights only).
Brutally honest
He was also brutally honest, sometimes to his own detriment; he once told the board of China Navigation that he could not possibly explain vessel operating cost variances, as he was only an English graduate from Oxford. For this he was given a severe telling-off.
His habit of self-deprecation was also criticised by an Australian pilot he had never met before who pulled him aside at a staff function when he was Cathay chairman to tell him: “Mate, you do a great job, but please do stop running yourself down!” before disappearing into the crowd.
Hughes-Hallett will be hugely missed by his widow and two daughters, his family and many friends and colleagues around the world.
Richard Hext is chairman of Vanmar Shipping and a non-executive director of China Navigation Co
