The son of a carpenter from Dunfanaghy in Co Donegal, Gerry Robinson, above, was the ninth of 10 children. After more than 40 years outside of Ireland there is little or no trace of a Donegal accent, but his connection to his home place is strong.
He now splits his time between Raphoe, where he owns an 18th century house, and Britain, where he is chairman of Granada and also the Arts Council of England. A one-time seminarian and a management accountant by training, he joined Granada in 1991 having already led a successful management buyout of the Compass catering group from Grand Metropolitan.
He restructured the TV and leisure group and in 1995 launched a successful £3.3 billion bid for Forte.
Mr Robinson has now split Granada in two, merging the leisure side with Compass in an £18 billion sterling deal to form Granada Compass, and floating Granada Media - makers of Coronation Street - as a separate company. He will step down from the Granada Compass board but has a three-year consultancy contract worth £10 million.
He adopts a deceptively laid-back tone that has led to him being dubbed "a shark in a Val Doonican pullover".
