“Trust your instinct when it is screaming at you.”
Jo Ritzema
Give your career history in 25 words or fewer.
Retail Assistant; Accountant; Finder, Acquirer and Integrator of new businesses; Systems Implementer; Storyteller; Questioner; Strategist; Coach and Mentor; Visionary; Celebrator of our people’s successes.
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Fun, fair and loyal.
What were your childhood / early ambitions?
International Banker – even though I had no idea what they did – I just wanted to live overseas.
Describe your dream job (if you weren’t doing this?)
Bookseller.
Share your top tips for business success.
Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is king.
Tell us your greatest fear.
Dried flowers and clowns.
What’s your most recent business achievement of note?
Diversification into campsites as a natural seasonal offset to distributing heating oil.
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?
Trust your instinct when it is screaming at you
Which is most important – ambition or talent?
Ambition – but for your business, not for yourself.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Watching others grow and succeed.
Which is the quality that you most admire?
Generosity.
What are you most likely to say?
What’s the worst thing that could happen?
What are you least likely to say?
I am so pleased Manchester City won the Premier League again.
Describe your perfect day.
Bike ride, G&T watching the sunset on the beach, wine and fire pit watching the dark skies.
Do you have a favourite sports team?
See if you can guess from my comment above!
What’s the biggest challenge of our time?
Climate change.
Cheese or chocolate?
Cheese but not the blue mouldy stuff.
Share your greatest personal achievement.
Cycled from Amsterdam to Bruges.
What’s your pet hate or biggest irritant?
People who are keen to find the problems but slow to offer the solutions.
If you were on ‘Mastermind’ what would your specialist subject be?
Duran Duran between 1981 and 1986 – I have a short attention span.
If you were elected to government what would be the first law you’d press for?
Euthanasia.
If your 20-year-old self saw you now what would they think?
You finally stopped biting your nails!
What is number 1 on your bucket list?
Learn to play bass guitar like Roger Waters… or just learn to play bass guitar!
What 3 things would you take to a desert island?
A radio for Test Match Special.
Shiny Happy Playlist.
Crisps and lip balm.
Tell us something about you that people would be very surprised by
I used to ballroom dance.
Who would you most like to ask these questions of?
Sir Alex Ferguson.
