TOUGH, direct, impatient and fearless are the terms commonly used to describe Paul Coulson. "He has a very sharp focus, knows what he wants and is aggressive and fearless about achieving his aims," according to one business associate.

"Subtle he ain't", another source says, referring to his impatience to implement changes he sees as necessary. "He's a tremendous salesman, he's highly intelligent and articulate and great to get a deal done. But he can be ruthless too when he has to be", according to another business colleague.

Paul Coulson, who is widely tipped to become the next chairman of VHI, is in the ascendant after a very difficult period.

He has recently acquired Tipperary Crystal. This week it emerged that he is involved in the rescue of CityJet, with plans to take a 15 per cent stake of the troubled airline which is now being restructured under examinership. He was appointed to the board of the VHI in May. He is expected to be appointed chairman of the health insurer when current chairman Noel Hanlon retires next February. Sources say he is energetic and impatient within the VHI board about making changes. The Cooler, a nickname derived from his surname, is also appended because of his self confident, unflappable style in business.

Mr Coulson's latest rise follows an almost disastrous experience between 1989 and 1994. A £93 million acquisition designed to catapult his asset finance company Yeoman onto the world stage went sour. The experience could have destroyed a lesser businessman. Yeoman's acquisition of CLF Holdings led to a write off of £18 million and, within months of its listing, a sharp drop in the price of Yeoman shares on stock markets in Dublin and London. Worse was to follow.

For Mr Coulson, who had risen to millionaire status and become a blue eyed boy of Irish business in the 1980s, the experience was a serious blow to his prestige and his personal wealth. But Paul Coulson's self confidence and energy fuelled a fightback.

In spite of warnings that he could not win against the British establishment, Mr Coulson sued his advisers on the deal, merchant bank SG Warburg. He won an out of court settlement of £35 million from SG Warburg. He added a further £4.5 million from an action against two CLF directors.

Alter a payout of about £20 million to shareholders and the repayment of some bank debt, Yeoman was restructured as a Luxembourg registered holding company with significant cash for investment opportunities. As a 15 per cent shareholder in Yeoman, Mr Coulson got about £3 million in the payout.

A Trinity College business graduate, Paul Coulson qualified as an accountant with Price Waterhouse. At Trinity he was captain of the college hockey team. He continued his hockey career as a member of Three Rock Rovers in Dublin. He added golf and tennis to his interests joining Portmarnock Golf Club and Donnybrook Tennis Club.

When Mr Coulson left Price Waterhouse he took a partnership in an accounting practice - Bates Coulson. About a year later he had an idea for a new business and left to set up Yeoman with the backing of a wealthy American then living in Cork, Mr Eric Heckett.

Yeoman was set up in 1982 as a leasing and asset finance business. It was based in Shannon to take advantage of the tax breaks. The company also took advantage of tax breaks in Belgium and Luxembourg to raise low cost funds. After a profit of £1,000 on its first deal the company moved ahead strongly. Pre-tax profits rose to £800,000 in 1986, £2.57 million in 1987 and £9.5 million in 1988. By then Paul Coulson's stake was valued at about £60 million.

At the end of 1988, Yeoman announced the deal which almost destroyed the company. It agreed to buy the British leasing group CLF Holdings for £93 million. The combined group would be listed on the stock markets in Dublin and London.

The plan was to create "a wide ranging asset finance group with a strong cash flow and broad earnings base, an improved geographical balance and significantly enhanced financial and human resources".

At the time Mr Coulson said the merger "provides an excellent opportunity to combine two first class businesses operating in complementary fields" - Yeoman concentrated on big ticket leasing while CLF specialised on the small to medium end of the market.

In January 1989 Yeoman International shares were listed in Dublin and London the underwriting price 425p per share.

However, within three months the group shocked the markets with the announcement of a £14.3 million sterling write off because of losses at Technology for Business, a company Yeoman acquired when it took over CLF Holdings. Yeoman shares were suspended at 495p. The group announced a £18 million rights issue to repair its balance sheet and placate banks which were owed about £450 million. Shares had to be offered at 175p one of the biggest discounts ever in an Irish rights issue.

Technology for Business (TFB) was formed in 1983 and acquired by CLF in 1987. Unlike the rest of the group, TFB was not involved in asset finance. It specialised in the sale, installation and maintenance of computer systems to solicitors and other specialised markets. After the refinancing, CLF Yeoman shares returned to the market at 290p, compared with a rights issue adjusted suspension price of 427p.

However the group's problems were not over. In 1990 CLF Yeoman shares were again suspended at 130p when the authorities in Luxembourg decided to change tax rules which Yeoman had been using to secure low cost funding. There were fears that the changes would reduce future earnings. The shares were relisted within weeks when agreement was reached which assured the group's income stream until the end of 1994.

In 1991 the shares were again suspended at 31p pending clarification of the company's financial affairs. In February 1992, still dogged by the CLF acquisition and with its legal action still extant, the company announced a loss of £137 million alter extraordinary charges for the 18 months to August 1991. Consequently it transpired to be the largest loss ever recorded by an Irish publicly quoted company.

Sources say Mr Coulson suffered during the CLF Yeoman debacle. He enjoys a wealthy lifestyle with homes in Dublin and Portugal. He has a strong distaste for publicity. But the same sources warn that he would make a formidable chairman of VHI.