(and his brother of George another remarkable Model Old Boy )
When John Nelson a Model Old Boy, who was over from Singapore to visit family, he was asked to come along to the school to give a talk to the current lower and upper 6th form and to answer questions about his early life in north Belfast, going to the school back in the 80’s and how he had fared in his business life.
For you who don’t know, John is the younger brother of George Nelson who was the founder and inspiration behind the Boys’ Model Bursary Fund. Indeed, it was very generous donations from these brothers which ‘kick started’ the fund and led many others to follow. The first donations are always the hardest to land and the most vital.
John recalled that while the school did everything to encourage and support him to do his best in all his subjects, he was not a natural studier. In fact, his poor mother was forced on occasions to lock his bedroom door and bar his window to prevent him making his escape from his homework and studies.
The Model and his mum persevered, and John did well enough in his A levels to win a place at the University of Ulster where he really blossomed, not only achieving a degree but also a Doctorate in Physics no less.
It was a time of great excitement and growth in the world of electronics when John moved out of the physics labs at Coleraine. A time of the birth of desk top computers from new companies like Apple and Dell and software start-ups such as Microsoft. Google, twitter, the internet and mobile phones were still 2 decades away.
John went to Cork to join Analog Cevices, an American based companies and one of the pioneers in silicon design. He went to a city where he knew no one and had no connections but he felt that this was the company to be with, one that would allow him to use the knowledge he had gained in his research and one he could learn from and enhance his career. This was exactly a pattern of calculated risk taking that John would take all his work life, as he moved from company to company around the globe. His reputation and profile rising to a point where over the last decade he has been head hunted to run extremely large organizations particularly in the Far East. No more so than UTAC Holdings Ltd, the current company he heads, a silicon device testing company with revenue in excess of $1.7 billion dollars based in Singapore. He has worked previously in California, Boston and Philadelphia.
John has exhibited the courage and belief that he could make a difference wherever he would end up and so it has proved time and time again
One of the key messages he wished to impart to all the boys present was that while they should be proud to be a ‘Model’ boy and come from North Belfast, that this should not be any kind of barrier or impediment to having rewarding careers in their business or vocational lives and being good citizens. He never dreamed when he sat where they were sitting in a school on the Ballysillan Road all those years ago that he would achieve what he has achieved. As someone who was also a physics degree and understands the silicon industry, I can say that I am in total awe of what John has achieved and know many high achievers in this very demanding industry.
He did also emphasize at the end of his talk; he was not advocating that everyone needs to travel the globe to be successful in life. Indeed, his own brother is a very successful entrepreneur with all his companies based in NI. George has also travelled the world but mainly in the support of either the Irish rugby team or the British and Irish Lions.
Despite what John has achieved he delivered his talk with great humility. His message was never about the ‘great I am’ but that he had sat were they were sitting coming from the same background and upbringing. John emphasised that each of the boys sitting in the room to-day can do and achieve more than they probably believe they can right now.
The boys present then took part in a lively Q&A session
John thanked the school for all they did to help him achieve what he has done in life and wished all the boys good fortune in their exams and their lives.
Mary (Montgomery) in turn, thanked John for taking time out from his visit back to NI to give such an inspiring talk to the boys and for his kind word about the school. And of course, for his very generous support of the Bursary Fund.
John and George are two very remarkable and very generous brothers who are a credit to themselves, their families, society, and the Boys’ Model.
