What was your first-ever job? Weeding the local public park in my home town in Bavaria at age 13. I spent a summer doing that and got the best tan I ever had! My first job out of university was selling Glasgow as a business tourism destination.

What was the first music single you bought? My first album was Michael Jackson’s Bad. A sign of things to come?

How do you describe your job to your mates? I love telling people I have never met that I work in a bar. If they are superficial, they think I am bar staff. Only the ones who are really interested in you find out what you really do. Best to keep a low profile at times.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? I love visiting a city, walking into a bar and seeing people drinking one of our West beers. Our flagship lager is St Mungo lager, now stocked in some of the best bars, restaurants and hotels across the UK.

What is the least rewarding part? I hate admin, form filling and bureaucracy. I am allergic to red tape. It would be so much more fun if some of the public authorities realised we want to generate wealth for the environment we work in and would let us progress projects more quickly.

What is your motto in life? Amelia Earhart once said: “Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.” I have it written on the back of my business card.

What’s your nickname? My team call me The Kaiser. I am strict but fair.

What’s your favourite movie and why? I love French cinema. The movie Love Me if You Dare touched me the first time I saw it and I have loved it ever since.

Do you have any phobias? I can’t stand liars. They give me the heebie-jeebies. I took my son Noah to a tree top adventure trail recently and had to walk on a tightrope 15m in the air. That was a bit scary, too.

Which celebrity would you pick to join your staff? James Martin, the chef. He is quite cute, can cook, and likes cars.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? Wouldn’t it be brilliant if it were always about quality and never about price?

What luxury would you have on your desert island? I can’t live without bread - a supply of freshly baked rye bread every morning.

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