I particularly enjoy the variety in my work and the fact that I always meet new customers, suppliers and businesses across different regions and always learn something new.
I’m also a fan of natural timber and have always enjoyed working with wood, so I’m naturally interested in the wide range of applications for our products and finding out about the different projects where our decking is used.
Getting enjoyment from dealing with people, always wanting to learn something new and being reliable. I rather promise less and then deliver more than the other way round. This way you build trust and place your customers at the centre and if you do that consistently, success for the business will come almost as a side effect.
The ability to deal with a multitude of tasks and to prioritise them effectively without getting stressed is also important in my role, particularly at this stage where we are building the Gripsure brand in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Fortunately, I have two great teams supporting me from both France and the UK.
I’ve been working in business development and sales for more than 25 years across a range of industries ranging from publishing to software development, fine foods, media production & broadcast to building supplies. I’ve been providing consultancy services in the UK for many years, mostly with a focus on business development and sales as well as export strategies.
Having spent a lot of time working closely with business owners of SMEs as well as some startups does not only help us, but in particular our customers, since I have learnt to view requirements through their eyes in order to understand what’s really important to them. This often helps to turn customers into long-term business partners. So for me it’s not simply about selling a product, but finding the best solution for our customers.
Nature. If you take the time to observe nature you can learn so much, it provides me with constant inspiration. With people, I’m inspired by those who have achieved a high degree of skill in a particular discipline. I’m not talking about intellect here, but about an intelligence to overcome your own ego in order to “flow” from a natural state, without limiting thoughts.
In my late teenage years I had the good fortune to train under Dan Inosanto, one of Bruce Lee’s teachers and later also to train with a couple of Muay Thai champions in Thailand. That was really inspirational and has influenced me to this day.
In my twenties I spent some time on retreats in Buddhist monasteries, some of the monks who I met there have also been an inspiration to me.
Working in a business development and sales environment has always provided me with the opportunity to have a major impact on a business’ growth. In general, I have always felt a sense of achievement when successfully completing a new business launch in a new market for one of my clients, or proving the viability of their concept or a new product. Seeing a company grow and take on new staff because of new business I had generated for them has always provided me with a sense of achievement.
On a personal level I was quite committed to my favourite sport in the late eighties and managed to win several Kickboxing competitions including German Kickboxing Champion and European Contact Karate Champion, I was quite proud of that.
I also spent nearly three years travelling across South and Southeast Asia and Australasia in the early to mid-nineties to satisfy my curiosity about foreign landscapes, cultures and their people. It was a great experience helping me gain lots of insights, the achievement for me was my “degree in the university of life”, something I treasure to this day.
By far my greatest achievement though is a well-balanced and active lifestyle with a happy family living in one of the most beautiful coastal areas in the Southwest of England, this is priceless to me.