Personal notes:
What have been the best and worst times in your career?
Best:
It’s a great privilege to be in my current role. Because I get to work with companies across a diverse range of sectors I get some unique insight. It interests me that while the context a business is operating in may change, the challenges are often the same.
Worst:
I’ve enjoyed all the roles I’ve worked in through good times and bad. There have been tough decisions to make though. Decisions associated with restructuring a team or a business can be unpleasant but are also important. You can only hope to keep in mind the purpose of the organisation and deliver that against your own values on these occasions so that there is a clear rationale.
Which five people would you invite to your ideal dinner party and why?
Barack Obama: He is genuinely respected and approaches his responsibilities with a good measure of diplomacy. He is also a great orator.
Martin Rees (Astronomer Royal): I was always amazed, as a layman in the world of chemistry, physics and astrophysics, by his ability to explain the most complex issues in a way that would make them real for me.
Dame Maggie Smith: She’s played a wide variety of incredible roles and has great presence but also a great sense of humour.
Stephen Fry: He questions and challenges in equal measure and is very charming. He also has a history of rebelliousness. He’d give my other guests a run for their money!
Bob Geldof: He is passionate about the purpose of the job he has in hand and always focused on delivering results. He is a true activist and has great powers of persuasion.
Name four things on your desk:
Things for helping me keep tidy, a lot of paperweights that have been given to me as gifts, a photo of my sister and a plaque from my Mum which says: “As soon as the rush is over I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. I’ve worked for it, I’ve earned it and nobody is going to deprive me of it!”
The main event
Find out more about the 2nd Annual Utility Week Congress at: www.uw-congress.net