 After developing a portfolio of successful workstation products and a rich portfolio of blue-chip clients, Orcatech went public, 20 months after its formation, on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1983 at a valuation of over $100m, at that time one of the highest valued young technology companies ever to go public on the TSX.In 1986 Pearson moved back to the UK to become the first Chief Executive of the Strathclyde Institute, a research and consultancy company focusing on computer-based manufacturing systems and based in Glasgow, Scotland.In establishing the Institute, Pearson's partners were the University of Strathclyde, under its charismatic and supportive Principal, Sir Graham Hills, the Scottish Development Agency, Hewlett Packard, Group Bull and Honeywell.