What turned me on then, and turns me on even today - and when the time comes from me to retire from management I think I'd still be interested in it - is that everything that happens in the world affects the price of securities.

You never want to think the best things are in the past. You want to get yourself to believe that the best things are going to be in the future.

I've been involved with Carnegie Hall for the last 13 years, and Chairman for the last six. I feel really good about what we've done growing our educational programs there, building a board that has made Carnegie Hall really a world-class institution.

If a person is not willing to make a mistake, you're never going to do anything right.

I think if you look back through time, the history of income, wealth and taxation is full of surprise. So I am not terribly impressed by those who know in advance what will or will not happen.

I went to college at QUT: Queensland University of Technology. I studied for a Bachelors in finance and acting.

Before the arrival of my first son, I gave up on the moribund business of magazine publishing, where I had long dreamed of a career, and went to work in advertising. That I could be paid great money to write was incredibly hard to believe.

I decided that the stock market was not an option for IKEA. I knew that only a long-term perspective could secure our growth plans, and I didn't want IKEA to become dependent on financial institutions.