Aycliffe Today Business #9 | Page 31

8. 13. 15. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. What do you do? Co-Director of Inspection & Engineering Services Ltd. We provide quality inspection and engineering services to the steel industry. Who have you worked for in the past? Various inspection companies/ agencies and of course Darlington Council at one point. 8. Four famous people you’d love to have round for dinner and why? The Beatles...only kidding. Mohammed Ali - Vibrant, full of life and an achiever. Royce Gracie – Would be fascinating to hear about the history of the Gracie family. Christopher Lloyd who played Emmett “Doc” Brown in Back to the future, what a character. David Gilmour from Pink Floyd – Fantastic musician. Best part of your job? Be my own boss, and in a position to make decisions that not only helps the company but helps others in work. 9. Is there anything about your job that you really don’t like? Nothing really. I enjoy the challenges, then again maybe the stress that sometimes goes handin-hand with running a business. 10. Who’s your favourite Tweeter? Favourite thing about working on Aycliffe Business Park? The idea that Aycliffe business Park is on the up with great potential ahead for growth and IES Ltd being not only part of that growth but contributing towards it. Which company/individual on the park do you do the most work with? We would like to work with the likes of Finley Structures specifically on the Hitachi project, but our clients vary and come from all part of the UK and abroad. Who’s your tip for future success? Jason Gurney from The Social Media Consultancy Limited – a hard-working, honest guy. 11. If you could do something else in business, what would it be? Run my Ju Jitsu martial arts club full-time in our own premises as a Centre of Excellence. Don’t have one Have you ever done anything really daring? Probably swimming in the crocodile infested Okavango River on the border of Namibia and Angola during my 15 months there as an army soldier for South Africa during the Angolan war. 15. 16. What is your greatest 17. 13. 14. Money no object, your dream holiday would be? A world tour – Ship/fly/drive combined. Otherwise just put me on an island with white sandy beaches. How would you best describe yourself in four words? Positive, approachable, energetic, hard-working. in five years? Putting IES Ltd firmly on the map and being ambassador in the UK for World Ju Jitsu Australia. 19. Who’s the most famous person advice you’ve been given? If you believe you can achieve it and it’s possible, then do it. If money was no object, what would be your ideal car? lol, something with a roaring V8 engine in it or more. Maybe a Mustang? No make that a Lamborghini. achievement? Achieving so much in my martial arts. I only went along some 16 years ago to just ‘have a go’ and now run a very successfully club for the last 12 years at Greenfield School. I will shortly be taking my 4th degree black belt and I am also the UK North East representative for World Ju Jitsu Australia. 18. Where do you see yourself 12. What’s the best piece of business Do you have a favourite band or type of music? Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and some Clubland! you’ve ever met? Royce Gracie, a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He is considered by some to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA. His father founded Brazilian Jui Jitsu! Of course there’s also Pam Royle from the ITV 6 o’clock news team. 20. Do you have any guilty pleasures? Dark rum! I collect and have some 25 different bottles of rum, one being very, very expensive. Oh, and did I mention chocolate?