1 . What do you do ? I ’ m the Principal of UTC South Durham , the new technical school for 14-19-yearolds on the business park . It ’ s a fantastic privilege to have been able to set the UTC up from scratch , build a cracking team of staff and work with talented young people from the region .
2 . Who have you worked for in the past ? I started my career as an engineer for ICI Chemicals on Teesside and had a good five years with them as technical engineer and project manager . I then moved to Gemini Consulting , in London as a business consultant . It was extremely interesting to see a wide range of industries , from heavy engineering to telecoms , retail and financial services . I then trained to be a design and technology teacher in London and found my vocation . My first job was in a school of 2,500 girls in south London with 40 different first languages . I then moved back home to the North East with my family and settled in Northumberland .
3 . Best part of your job ? Watching our students grow in confidence . It ’ s fantastic to see them talking about their experiences and to hear such positive feedback from business leaders and their parents .
4 . Is there anything about your job that you really don ’ t like ? Trying to remember everything ! With 250 emails a day and terrible organisation skills , I live in fear of forgetting important meetings and missing deadlines . Apologies to everyone who ’ s been on the receiving end of those .
5 . Favourite thing about working on Aycliffe Business Park ? I had a wonderful year based at the Xcel Centre before the UTC opened . Kerina Clark and the team were brilliant landlords and it was a great place to meet lots of enthusiastic business leaders who wanted to help the UTC succeed .
6 . Which company / individual on the park do you do the most work with ? Hitachi , as our founding sponsor , have been brilliant . They are growing fast and have a lot to manage but their level of support for the UTC has been superb .
7 . Who ’ s your tip for future success ? That ’ s easy . We have 140 14 and 16-year-olds who are going to have a huge impact on the business park and beyond as future employees .
8 . Four famous people you ’ d love to have round for dinner and why ? That ’ s tricky – I ’ m not sure I ’ d want four famous people round at the same time ! If I ’ m allowed them in pairs then probably Owen Jones , the very interesting left-wing thinker and Vince Cable , MP for an interesting evening of politics and social justice . Two designers I find inspiring are Thomas Heatherwick and Zaha Hadid , the Iraqi-born architect who sadly died this year so I guess won ’ t be available for dinner ; I would love to understand the way they think .
9 . If you could do something else in business , what would it be ? Furniture design . At various points in the past I ’ ve thought about setting up a small business making bespoke furniture . It took me over a year to make a cot for my son and he was six months old when it was finished so I realised it wasn ’ t as easy as it seems . One day , maybe …
10 . Who ’ s your favourite Tweeter ? Tweeting is one of the things I do occasionally and spend the rest of the time feeling guilty about ( see answer to question 4 ). I can ’ t say I have a favourite .
11 . Have you ever done anything really daring ? I once bungee-jumped into a river in South Africa ; I was soaking from the waist up ! Now , I cycle to work from Durham down the A167 – some of the trucks heading to the business park get very close .
12 . What ’ s the best piece of business advice you ’ ve been given ? The most useful advice was the worst I was given . Early in my career a senior executive coach told me that I needed to change my hair and my car if I was going to be successful in the company ; I left that year , realising that I needed to find a much more meaningful career with people whose values I shared .
13 . If money was no object , what would be your ideal car ? Audi RS5 probably . But it ’ s not something I think about much as I ’ ve chosen the wrong profession to make the money …
14 . Money no object , your dream holiday would be ? A few months ’ trekking in Nepal and Tibet with my wife , Caroline . I ’ ve been to the Himalayas before but it was a bit rushed . I ’ d love to go up to Everest Base Camp and visit Buddhist monasteries .
15 . Do you have a favourite band or type of music ? Tom Waits and Elvis Costello – I love that type of alternative blues and so do my boys now as I sing them to sleep ( badly ). At least I hope they do .
16 . What is your greatest achievement ? To be honest , opening the UTC last September and watching our students develop over our first six months . It has such potential to help young people make great career choices and help businesses grow .
17 . How would you best describe yourself in four words ? Tall , forgetful , principled Principal
18 . Where do you see yourself in five years ? I hope I ’ ll be leading a group of UTCs as the concept expands further .
19 . Who ’ s the most famous person you ’ ve ever met ? I played rugby with and against a lot of international players . I was once dumped on my head in the mud by Jason Leonard , England ’ s most capped player , who picked me up , apologised and bought me a drink afterwards .
20 . Do you have any guilty pleasures ? Magnums ( the ice-cream ). One every night , two if I ’ m working late , very occasionally three . Probably very greedy but I ’ ve convinced myself it doesn ’ t count if they are all different flavours .
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 31
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19 .
13 .
1 . What do you do ? I ’ m the Principal of UTC South Durham , the new technical school for 14-19-yearolds on the business park . It ’ s a fantastic privilege to have been able to set the UTC up from scratch , build a cracking team of staff and work with talented young people from the region .
2 . Who have you worked for in the past ? I started my career as an engineer for ICI Chemicals on Teesside and had a good five years with them as technical engineer and project manager . I then moved to Gemini Consulting , in London as a business consultant . It was extremely interesting to see a wide range of industries , from heavy engineering to telecoms , retail and financial services . I then trained to be a design and technology teacher in London and found my vocation . My first job was in a school of 2,500 girls in south London with 40 different first languages . I then moved back home to the North East with my family and settled in Northumberland .
3 . Best part of your job ? Watching our students grow in confidence . It ’ s fantastic to see them talking about their experiences and to hear such positive feedback from business leaders and their parents .
4 . Is there anything about your job that you really don ’ t like ? Trying to remember everything ! With 250 emails a day and terrible organisation skills , I live in fear of forgetting important meetings and missing deadlines . Apologies to everyone who ’ s been on the receiving end of those .
5 . Favourite thing about working on Aycliffe Business Park ? I had a wonderful year based at the Xcel Centre before the UTC opened . Kerina Clark and the team were brilliant landlords and it was a great place to meet lots of enthusiastic business leaders who wanted to help the UTC succeed .
6 . Which company / individual on the park do you do the most work with ? Hitachi , as our founding sponsor , have been brilliant . They are growing fast and have a lot to manage but their level of support for the UTC has been superb .
7 . Who ’ s your tip for future success ? That ’ s easy . We have 140 14 and 16-year-olds who are going to have a huge impact on the business park and beyond as future employees .
8 . Four famous people you ’ d love to have round for dinner and why ? That ’ s tricky – I ’ m not sure I ’ d want four famous people round at the same time ! If I ’ m allowed them in pairs then probably Owen Jones , the very interesting left-wing thinker and Vince Cable , MP for an interesting evening of politics and social justice . Two designers I find inspiring are Thomas Heatherwick and Zaha Hadid , the Iraqi-born architect who sadly died this year so I guess won ’ t be available for dinner ; I would love to understand the way they think .
9 . If you could do something else in business , what would it be ? Furniture design . At various points in the past I ’ ve thought about setting up a small business making bespoke furniture . It took me over a year to make a cot for my son and he was six months old when it was finished so I realised it wasn ’ t as easy as it seems . One day , maybe …
10 . Who ’ s your favourite Tweeter ? Tweeting is one of the things I do occasionally and spend the rest of the time feeling guilty about ( see answer to question 4 ). I can ’ t say I have a favourite .
11 . Have you ever done anything really daring ? I once bungee-jumped into a river in South Africa ; I was soaking from the waist up ! Now , I cycle to work from Durham down the A167 – some of the trucks heading to the business park get very close .
12 . What ’ s the best piece of business advice you ’ ve been given ? The most useful advice was the worst I was given . Early in my career a senior executive coach told me that I needed to change my hair and my car if I was going to be successful in the company ; I left that year , realising that I needed to find a much more meaningful career with people whose values I shared .
13 . If money was no object , what would be your ideal car ? Audi RS5 probably . But it ’ s not something I think about much as I ’ ve chosen the wrong profession to make the money …
14 . Money no object , your dream holiday would be ? A few months ’ trekking in Nepal and Tibet with my wife , Caroline . I ’ ve been to the Himalayas before but it was a bit rushed . I ’ d love to go up to Everest Base Camp and visit Buddhist monasteries .
15 . Do you have a favourite band or type of music ? Tom Waits and Elvis Costello – I love that type of alternative blues and so do my boys now as I sing them to sleep ( badly ). At least I hope they do .
16 . What is your greatest achievement ? To be honest , opening the UTC last September and watching our students develop over our first six months . It has such potential to help young people make great career choices and help businesses grow .
17 . How would you best describe yourself in four words ? Tall , forgetful , principled Principal
18 . Where do you see yourself in five years ? I hope I ’ ll be leading a group of UTCs as the concept expands further .
19 . Who ’ s the most famous person you ’ ve ever met ? I played rugby with and against a lot of international players . I was once dumped on my head in the mud by Jason Leonard , England ’ s most capped player , who picked me up , apologised and bought me a drink afterwards .
20 . Do you have any guilty pleasures ? Magnums ( the ice-cream ). One every night , two if I ’ m working late , very occasionally three . Probably very greedy but I ’ ve convinced myself it doesn ’ t count if they are all different flavours .