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INTERVIEW:In advance of the Global Irish Economic Forum, one of our most successful and interesting businessmen Gerry Robinsonshares his thoughts on Nama, civil servants, the perils of raising taxes and why he’s sorry he didn’t buy bank shares when they reached rock bottom

LATER THIS month, Donegal native Gerry Robinson will participate in the Global Irish Economic Forum alongside 175 other Irish leaders in business, sport and culture aiming to harness their collective commercial ingenuity and shape our economic recovery. Perhaps better known in recent years for his TV programmes – Gerry’s Big Decision, I’ll Show Them Who’s Boss and Can Gerry Robinson Fix the NHS – his portrayal of business has been less confrontational and more educational than The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den, and his approach to managing people has more in common with that of a psychologist than a corporate boss.