A Window on My Life, from Birmingham to Brazil and back, is the story of post-war baby boomer, Robert West, born in Birmingham, moving to Dagenham, Benfleet, Poland, Hungary, India and Brazil before retiring to Brentwood. Along the way having two daughters, a second marriage with three additional children, who together have produced twenty grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Robert (Bob) enjoyed a much loved but poor childhood, overcoming an even poorer education, to become an international manager. After the former Soviet Bloc countries opened up, shortly after the Berlin wall fell, he moved to Poland to form one of the largest energy companies in the country at the time. Later in Hungary as managing director, he oversaw one of the first and largest IPOs on a country’s fledgling stock exchange. Later he moved to India and finally to Brazil where he was president of two of the largest energy companies there.

He retired at 51 to spend more time with his growing family, and concentrate on helping his children set up and run their own businesses. He lives in Brentwood with his wife Pauline and Otis, their once black though rapidly greying Labradoodle.