Historical figures are very important to me because I've never had a mentor as such. Nowadays, I think it's very appropriate for business people to study someone like Alexander the Great, because you have to have a world vision, and his strategy was to conquer the known world! He dreamed of conquering the Persians and he led an army of conscripts all the way from Macedonia to India and did just that.

What can you learn from his world view?

Alexander was very clever with the respect he showed different cultures. He respected local Gods and traditions . . . and that's still hugely relevant. All development is local. So at Airtricity we like working with local people. It's a cliche now but they say "act globally, think locally" and Alexander was superlative at that. He appointed local people to run things in different places. And you can still learn from that. The people who develop in China for us will be Chinese people. The people who do development in Texas will be Texan people.

And we will try to inspire them with the same kind of vision we have here in Ireland.

What was he like as a leader?

The way he led his staff and set bold visions for them was very impressive. He inspired them with awe. He always led his troops into battle and was wounded several times. So I never ask people to do what I wouldn't do myself. I certainly would see authenticity as being very important.

What are the parallels for an Irish company?

Macedonia was a bit of a backwater and I think similarly Ireland could be a big example for Europe of how to do things. We have the Greens in government now, and the Taoiseach has embraced the green revolution, and that's an opportunity. A small open economy like Ireland could be a model for how to operate in energy terms. At the moment we're at the end of every pipeline. The gas pipeline goes from Russian through Poland, to Germany, to Holland, to England, to Scotland and then to Ireland. Is that secure? No! So we need to think globally, and if you do that then you become inspired by the original global thinker . . . Alexander the Great.

So are you like Alexander the Great?

I'm not a megalomaniac! I don't actually think I'm like Alexander the Greatf and I'm unlikely to be murdered by a competitor. But I am inspired by him. I used to be surprised by the parallels between the past and the present, but as you get older you realise that there's nothing new in human nature. At the back of it all we're still a reproducing animal that fights for its territory. What we have now is universal education and a respect for human beings which wasn't there in Alexander's time. And there are parts of the world where that respect is still lacking. But the great leaders always had respect for their people. They always recognised the inherent civilisation within us and played to that.