Fred Ward (OB), CEO of Wild, Returns to Belhaven

It was a great pleasure to welcome Fred Ward (OB) back to Belhaven to give the inaugural talk in the new Makerspace. Co-founder of ‘Wild’ with fellow OB Charlie Bowes-Lyon, Fred had recently sold the company having left ‘Hello Fresh’, of which he was an integral part. He spoke to Forms 1 and 2 about the highs and lows of being a serial entrepreneur, and offered some invaluable insight into the mindset required for success.

  

Fred's Time at Belhaven
Fred started by recounting his memories of his time at Belhaven. Many of the children were surprised to hear that he had not found academic life particularly easy at school: even more interesting, perhaps, than his self-confessed mediocrity in the classroom at Belhaven and Harrow was the confession that his friendship with Charlie, later to be his incredibly successful co-founder, was far from rock-solid in their Prep school days. In fact, Headmaster Mr. Osborne was forced to bring them together to gently encourage them to sort out their differences for the benefit of all around them!

The well-made point was that, from these inauspicious beginnings were found the inspiration for success. Being forced to confront the reality of imperfection and challenge, Fred made a point of focusing on his strengths rather than being disheartened by any perceived weaknesses. Channeling his energies into creativity, he focused on what really mattered to him, and in those passions he was able to find inspiration.

Starting with Passions
First came food. Taking things right back to basics, ‘Hello Fresh’ was inspired by a desire to simplify. When the time came for a new challenge, it was by looking around his home, starting in the bathroom, that Fred and Charlie started to design sustainable shower gel dispensers. ‘Wild’, taken from his love of the outdoors inspired by his time at Belhaven, offered a solution to the exorbitant waste of bathroom product packaging. Intensive research into a passionately held idea led to the design of a naturally decomposing refillable container that had the look of a designer product and, hey presto, ‘Wild’ became an instant sensation.

Pease Bay Day
One of the highlights of the talk for me was hearing, at first hand, confirmation of a rumour that I had heard before starting at Belhaven. This was that a company owned by OBs paid homage to their old Prep school by recreating their favourite day of the Summer Term in their smart new London office. On a hot day in the nation’s capital, the cry of ‘Pease Bay’ would echo around the open plan workplace – bemused at first, and then with dawning excitement, employees of Fred and Charlie would down tools and head for the gardens of London to enjoy a bonus day away from the coalface, relaxing and spending time with friends.

Key Takeaways
Fred spoke compellingly of his life and work, making it all seem incredibly simple and accessible. He had already completely won over his audience by the time that he offered them a personalised shower gel dispenser and lip balm – one for every member of Forms 1 and 2 – and now they will remember him for ever. It was a quietly brilliant talk to open this exciting new creative space for current and future generations of Belhavians.