Ove Arup

Arup's firm engineered the Sydney Opera House and the Centre Pompidou. He set out his principles in a 1970 speech to partners, and in 1977 the firm's shares were placed in trusts held for the benefit of its employees. Arup has stayed independent ever since, with staff sharing in profits, and grew into one of the world's largest engineering consultancies. It shows how a professional firm can avoid being sold off when its founders retire.