William A. de Vigier
William Alphonse "Bill" de Vigier von Steinbrugg (born January 22, 1912 in Solothurn ; † December 10, 2003 in Bern ) was a Swiss entrepreneur .
Life
After his youth in his hometown, he did a commercial apprenticeship at Von Roll in Klus and then worked at Scintilla in Zuchwil . According to the will of his father, who came from a former patrician family in Solothurn , he was to become a lawyer in accordance with family tradition. But the son had no desire to do so; he wanted to go abroad. And the threat from his father didn't stop him from doing so, who wanted to cut off all financial support in this case. William A. de Vigier went to London with a capital of 1,000 francs : He had the idea of producing flexible parts for scaffolding.
With the financial help of an English lawyer, he started his first company, Acrow Engineers Ltd , a small business with three employees and a workshop under a railway bridge. It was here that he developed his first product, “Acrow Prop”, a metal scaffolding that sold extremely well for many years.
The small company became a stock corporation listed on the stock exchange. It expanded to the USA, then to Argentina, Peru, what is now Zimbabwe, Iraq, South Africa, Canada, Egypt, Spain, India, New Zealand and other countries. At the height of his entrepreneurial activity, de Vigier headed a global company with over 10,000 employees and sat on 36 boards of directors , such as the board of British Airways .
In 2003 William A. de Vigier died at the age of 91. According to the will of its founder, the WA de Vigier Foundation has been promoting company founders in Switzerland since 1987.
Honors
- 1978: Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Knight of the Swedish North Star Order
- Grand Commander of Star of Africa in Liberia
- 2001: Solothurn Entrepreneur Prize ("for his entrepreneurial life's work and in recognition of the will to share the fruits of his entrepreneurial success with young, imaginative people")
Web links
- Tobias Krüger: Vigier von Steinbrugg, William Alphonse [Bill de Vigier]. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Biography on the website of the WA de Vigier Foundation
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vigier, William A. de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Vigier von Steinbrugg, William Alphonse de (full name); Vigier, Bill de (short name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 22, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Solothurn |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 10, 2003 |
| Place of death | Bern |