TORONTO, CANADA - SINGAPOREANS are familiar with the Bata brand, but not the colourful tycoon behind the shoe giant.
Mr Thomas Bata (right), who died on Monday aged 93, was a humanitarian and campaigner for free speech in both his native land, the former Czechoslovakia, and his adopted home, Canada, reported the Calgary Herald.
He was an ardent anti-communist during the Cold War years.
After his father's shoe empire was worn down by the Nazi occupation, Mr Bata left his homeland for Canada in 1939, the year World War II broke out. He fought in the Canadian Army during that conflict. He rebuilt the family company from the ground up, then expanded it spectacularly from his new base in Toronto.
His proudest moment, however, might have come shortly after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which ushered out the communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia.
Mr Bata opened his first shoe store in Prague, and received a reception normally accorded to prodigal sons. Czech President Vaclav Klaus was a personal friend who hailed him as 'one of the greatest personalities of our time'.
Today, Bata products are sold in over 30 countries.
Millions of Bata shoes are sold each year.
In some parts of the world, particularly in Africa, Bata shoes are so widespread that 'Bata' is a word used interchangeably with 'shoe', reported the International Herald Tribune.
To the day he died, his business cards identified him as 'chief shoe salesman', and he was planning a visit to the company's European operations.
He died in Toronto of agerelated ailments and pneumonia, leaving behind a wife and four children.
