meet me room
If you could invite three guests,
dead or alive, from history to dinner,
who would they be and why?
My first guest would be Hannibal.
My philosophy is that every challenge
has a solution: So you are sitting
at the bottom of the Alps with
the Carthaginian army and a few
elephants, the obvious thing would
be to find the easiest route around,
but his reasoning was that if he
went straight over the top, he would
surprise the enemy. A magnificent
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I would definitely love
to have a bash at
climbing Everest.
example of leadership and I would
like to question him on how he got
everybody on board (although I
suspect the alternatives would be a
bit grim!)
My second guest would be
George Mallory. I suspect that the
First World War had a profound effect
on those who served in terms of
their own attitude towards peril and,
ultimately, death. What drove him
to go back three times to the death
zone on Everest with rudimentary
equipment, the hardship, adversity
and privation experienced, as well as
the inherent dangers? But, did he and
Irvine reach the top?
My third guest is a sentimental one.
My father died when I was young, and
had he lived he would now be enjoying
nine grandchildren. I would like them to
meet the man that made it possible.
What are your hobbies/interests
outside work?
Sport plays a big part in my life. I love
rugby and also getting out onto the
road for a decent run. In addition, I
also like to weight train. Away from
exercising I really enjoy cooking and
spending time with my family.
Do you have a bucket list of
things you would like to do and
achieve and what are they?
Well, I would definitely love to have
a bash at climbing Everest. I would
also relish the chance to self-build
my own home, whilst also having
the opportunity to park an Aston
Martin in the garage! Next up
would be to get my rugby coaching
qualifications – I’m still waiting for
the call from Eddie Jones, he must
have lost my number…
In terms of work, I want to help
build Business Critical Solutions into
the pre-eminent IT asset solutions
consultancy in the UK, then Europe
and, ultimately, globally.
How would you spend your
perfect weekend (imagining no
travel constraints)?
We recently had a family holiday
in Menorca. My father in-law, my
eldest son and myself were throwing
about a rugby ball on the beach.
Before we knew it a whole host of
people joined in – it was great fun!
If you throw in a barbeque and a
couple of cold beers that would be a
good place to start.