Aycliffe Business Issue 72 | Page 13

2: WHO WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD HERO, AND WHY?

A:

My dad was and still is my hero. From a very young age I’ ve watched him look after people. Not just me, my sister and my mam but our wider family( he’ s one of eight children), his friends and all the staff that worked for him in his 35 years of business.

3: HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?

A:

I’ d say a mixture of working hard, being lucky to be supported and mentored by lots of amazing people and being passionate about the role of education.

4: WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE ORGANISATION ON AYCLIFFE BUSINESS PARK AND WHY( EXCLUDING YOUR OWN)?

A:

Ah... so many to choose from, this is a hard choice! I’ d say Ebac – a great British innovation and manufacturing right on our doorstep, but leading the way in green technology( heat pumps).

5: WHICH AYCLIFFE BUSINESS OR INDIVIDUAL DO YOU TIP FOR FUTURE SUCCESS?

A:

Again, so many to name and so difficult to choose just one. We have industryleading businesses that will achieve so much success in the future. However, I’ ll choose an individual – Paul Hind. I’ ve been fortunate to experience Paul’ s training and consultancy and seen first hand the huge positive impact he has.

6: WHAT’ S THE BEST BUSINESS DECISION YOU EVER MADE?

A: To join Bishop Auckland College Group. I feel like I’ ve been given the lead role with south Durham’ s best kept secret – we provide the highest quality of education and training right on your doorstep.

7: WHAT’ S THE WORST DECISION YOU’ VE EVER MADE?

A:

Most business leaders will resonate with this. I’ ve regularly made bad decisions but they are usually when I have waited too long when I know in my heart it is the right thing to do.

8: IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR ORGANISATION, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

A:

The way we( and all other colleges) are under-valued by government in terms of funding. In other European countries young people are funded to go to college for 25-30 hours per week, and in the UK we are only funded for 15 hours per week. That’ s just not fair to create the future workforce the country needs.

9: ARE YOU AN EARLY RISER OR A NIGHT OWL?

A:

Early riser – the early mornings are my favourite time of the day.

10: WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS MANTRA?

A:

Ask my colleagues – I have so many. I guess the one that sticks out is‘ make sure you spend time working on your business and not just in it!’.

11: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A SMALL STARTUP?

A:

Embrace feedback. Make sure you get as much of it as you can and use it to accelerate your growth. I see too many people, businesses and ideas stop at the first hurdle because they receive feedback that they think is absolute. Feedback gives you what you need to get better.

12: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

A:

Exciting. I’ m growing into the role of principal and CEO having done it for a year now. We have an amazing team in place and that is allowing me to do more work on the business, growing new partnerships and helping make a bigger impact in our community.

13: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR ORGANISATION?

A:

We have an ambitious strategic plan over the next few years that will see growth, both in the number of people and partners we work with, growth in our staff and growth in the offer we have. Many of these things are already coming to fruition now and it’ s exciting to think there are so many more.

14: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THE PRIME MINISTER IF YOU SAW HIM ON AYCLIFFE BUSINESS PARK?

A:

“ Hi Keir, fancy a coffee in Siesta?” I’ d then take the time to tell him about all the amazing work that is going on around the park and( with the right support and backing) the impact we can make not only regionally and nationally but internationally. The big message would be‘ let’ s kickstart the economy by investing in Aycliffe and the South Durham area’.

15: WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL CHARITY?

A:

I am chair of a charity myself, The PFC Trust, so I obviously gravitate towards that but that’ s not totally local to Aycliffe, so I’ ll go with the North East STEM Foundation, as it brings together two of my passions – education and business.

16: WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL RESTAURANT?

A:

I’ m a little biased but McIntyre’ s in Bishop Auckland. This is our newest venture – a historic building that we have redeveloped into a training kitchen and restaurant that operates commercially. Even though it only opened in February, it’ s proving a real success.

17: WHAT WOULD BE YOUR IDEAL EVENING MEAL?

A:

Some form of seafood starter, maybe scallops or prawns, followed by a steak with a peppercorn sauce and loads of vegetables. If there’ s room after that, a sticky toffee pudding.

18: WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

A:

Spend time with my family. Food and travel dictate a lot of what we do, so this could be going out for meals or taking a trip out for the day or, if we are lucky, a little holiday.

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 13