How long have you been at IST INTECH, and has your role changed?

I joined IST INTECH, formerly Integration Technology, in February 2021 as Marketing Manager.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

No two days are the same. My role as Marketing Manager at IST INTECH is a dynamic and multifaceted journey that transcends traditional marketing boundaries. Beyond crafting impactful campaigns and managing brand presence, it involves navigating the intricate intersection of innovation, technology, and customer engagement. From collaborating with R&D to understand the intricacies of cutting-edge technologies to engaging with customers to decipher evolving market trends, the role is an ever-evolving blend of strategy, creativity, and adaptability. Whether it’s overseeing global marketing initiatives, exploring new market opportunities, or championing sustainability in our communication, my role embraces a journey that is as varied and vibrant as the spectrum of UV light itself.

What is your background?

My professional journey commenced in the vibrant realm of Hotel & Catering, where I honed my skills in hospitality and customer service. However, a pivotal moment steered me towards the dynamic world of sales, igniting a passion for connecting with people and understanding their needs. As the chapters unfolded, I found myself drawn to the strategic and creative facets of business promotion, leading me to explore roles in marketing. Now, with over two decades of experience, my career trajectory is a testament to the enriching blend of diverse experiences – from the intricacies of hotel management to the dynamic challenges of sales and the creative realm of marketing. It’s a journey that encapsulates my commitment to continuous learning and adaptability in an ever-evolving professional landscape.

What are your favourite books/films?

I prefer music! While movies and books offer captivating narratives and visual experiences, music, in its diverse forms, possesses a unique ability to convey complex emotions and stories in a condensed yet powerful manner.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

Beyond the confines of my professional life, I try to immerse myself in the exhilarating realms of travel and road cycling, preferably blending the two passions into one extraordinary experience.

Whether navigating through quaint villages or conquering challenging terrains, the synergy of travel and cycling fuels my spirit and the thrill of discovering new cultures, savouring local cuisines, and forging connections with fellow cyclists amplifies the joy of the ride.

How long have you been at IST INTECH, and has your role changed?

I joined integration technology as a Graduate R&D engineer in November 2017, and 20 months later I was promoted to R&D engineer. November 2021 will mark my fourth year at the company. As I have progressed and developed my technical expertise I have been given more autonomy and responsibility.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

As a research and development engineer my work is varied, no two weeks are the same. I could be working on anything from a plc program, designing a test jig, to doing a remote install in America (thanks pandemic).
My job role occasionally gives me the opportunity to travel and I have gone on visits to Denmark and our group headquarters in Germany.

What is your background?

I am the first engineer in my family (my dad is a minister of religion and my mother is a nurse). However as a child I would take things apart and put them back together (my mother didn’t appreciate this).

When I went to secondary school I was fortunate that our school had arguably the best school workshop in Birmingham and the teachers sacrificed their time to run an after school Design & Technology club.

Needless to say I thrived in this environment making everything from bokkens (they were cut up upon completion ) to model steam engines, we even restored a go-kart.

It got to the point where the head of the department (shout out to Mr Keane if your reading this) would give me his keys and leave me to my own devices, which once meant he went home leaving me with the keys to the department (apparently I could have got in to many interesting places with that bunch of keys) and I had to come in early the next day to let the teachers in.

I then went on and did two years of an aeronautical engineering degree at the University of Glamorgan, before switching courses to Mechanical Engineering graduating with a BEng from the University of Derby in 2017.

What are your favourite books/films?

I am somewhat of a bookworm and devour books (It takes me 3 days to read Lord of the Rings). My favourite genres are science fiction, space opera, fantasy and LitRPG/Xanxia, though I am always up for a good book no matter the genre. Some books that I particularly enjoy are:

• The Starforce Universe series by Aer-ki Jyr
• Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini
• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• The Bible
• The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

I love music, holding grades on both the piano and the cello, and regularly played in various church settings for services and choirs (pre Covid-19).

I enjoy various sports particularly badminton having played since the age of 7 and competing in various leagues and like to keep physically active.

I volunteer at a local pathfinder club (similar to scouts) and enjoy camping (especially international camporees) and all the fun that comes along with the great outdoors.

My wife was born in Germany and speaks German, Tamil and English with native fluency, I am currently relearning German ( I once did German AS level) and will then attempt to learn Tamil (wish me luck guys).

How long have you been at IST INTECH, and has your role changed?

This is my first career-oriented job out of university. My personal hobbies do partially tie in with my job, specifically the software / electronics side.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

I like that the company has an Open Door Policy. If I have any doubts, ideas or queries about a project I can very easily ask the question and get a quick response directly from the senior management team. I really appreciate this kind of open and collaborative approach as it makes me feel my questions / opinions are valued and appreciated. It also means I don’t have to wait too long for approval to make decisions.

What is your background?

Originally from Poland, I moved to the UK when I was 7 and completed all of my education here, continuing onto university and getting degrees at both bachelor and master level. I have always been fascinated with technology and inspired by innovation and I am very passionate about computing, physics, robotics & electronics.

What are your favourite books/films?

I enjoy reading biographies, encyclopaedias – a personal favourite is the life biography of Curtis James Jackson, who transitioned from poverty and a life of crime to becoming a business mogul and one of the most famous and successful music artists of all time.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

I really enjoy innovating and creating; from robotics / electronics projects with microcontrollers through to producing music. I get a lot of enjoyment from the idea of creating something new.

I also have a big interest in video games. Having played quite a lot growing up I took an interest in Esports and played video games semi-professionally even representing Coventry University on a national level.

How long have you been at IST INTECH, and has your role changed?

I joined the company in a newly formed Product management role in July 2018. Naturally, as the role was new to the business, it has taken some time to fully understand where I can help the business most. My role was predominantly based within the Engineering department, but more recently I have been able to work much more closely with our Sales and Marketing teams.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

I like that the company has an Open Door Policy. If I have any doubts, ideas or queries about a project I can very easily ask the question and get a quick response directly from the senior management team. I really appreciate this kind of open and collaborative approach as it makes me feel my questions / opinions are valued and appreciated. It also means I don’t have to wait too long for approval to make decisions.

What is your background?

For the last 20 years I have worked within the Electronics Manufacturing industry, working in many roles within that time. I started my career as a fresh faced 21 year old Product assembler/Sales engineer for a small electronics company that sold monitoring instrumentation to blue chip companies within the Oil and Gas industry.

I then progressed through full time Electronics Technician and Production Manager roles for a FTSE 100 global company, whilst also studying part time for an Electronics Engineering degree, finally graduating in 2011 with a 2:1 BEng Honours degree.

After graduating university, I naturally progressed into Electronic Engineer and Project Engineer roles, with the latter really opening up opportunities to work on all aspects of product integration and delivery. To date I have had opportunities to work on great technological products that have really pushed the boundaries for engineering.
Working in many different roles within the electronics Manufacturing industry has really helped me to understand the challenges and pitfalls that we face every day to ensure that we offer advanced, reliable products that our customers order time and time again.

Why do you think customers choose Integration Technology?

We are an innovative and flexible company that will go above and beyond to ensure that our customers come back to us time and time again for their application needs. Not only do we have an outstanding range of UV products available “off the shelf”, we also will create bespoke products and design solutions to ensure that our customers get exactly what they need, this really separates us from the crowd and is something that our customers appreciate.

What are your favourite books/films?

I love to read all manner or books when I have the time (children permitting). My favourite genres are science fiction, sports biographies, the classics, legal thrillers and generally any book that has a good review! My three top books would have to be “The Martian”, “Lord of the Rings” and “Jurassic Park”. It was my love for science fiction that led me to pursue a career in Engineering. Reading about the technology in some of the Michael Crichton novels as a young teenager really set me on my way.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

I have a huge passion for the glorious sport that is known as football (well in England anyway!). I played competitively for local teams from 9 years old right up to when my “career” was curtailed by a ruptured ACL at the ripe old age of 34. I still play the odd game for charity and have made various comebacks through the years but sadly the knee is just not up to it anymore.

I have supported Liverpool FC since the age of 6 and try to get to a game whenever I can, although opportunities are few and far between. I am currently trying to invoke a passion for Liverpool FC and football in general in both of my young daughters, but to no avail. They will often support the team that Liverpool FC are playing against! Hopefully one day one of them will catch the football/Liverpool FC bug and we can enjoy the beautiful game together.

I also love to watch films (Back to the Future, Star wars and Indiana Jones are personal favourites), enjoy Rugby and golf, love to go to and watch live music (Indie/rock) and love to get out and enjoy a beer with friends and family.

Family time is very important in our household, my wife and I try to spend as much time as we can with our two young daughters. We love to get outside for long walks in the countryside or the many beautiful woodlands that we have in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties.

How long have you been at IST INTECH, and has your role changed?

I joined the company on 1st December 2001, when the company was in its infancy, at that time was Global Accounts Director, but at that stage in the company’s development we basically did any job that needed doing, everything from Technical Support, to Shipping, to Deliveries and making the Tea. As the company has evolved I have reverted to my normal role of Sales and taken the title of Sales Director, although I still spend a lot of time helping and supporting Customers and the team at Integration Technology with application issues.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

Meeting people from different backgrounds and geographic regions, promoting UV curing in all its guises and of course our products and services. Call me a bit of a Nerd, but UV is still exciting and we come across new challenges every day in different industries this makes it interesting. The advent of UV LED is making UV Curing processes accessible to industries that previously could not be accomplished with conventional UV Lamp technology.

Why do you think customers choose IST INTECH?

IST INTECH is a pioneering, innovative company, with an in depth understanding of UV curing applications. We offer a range of product options from our standard off the shelf product, a tailored standard product, finally we will also undertake bespoke applications where a normal UV solution is not applicable and a completely novel design is required. Our aim is to remain flexible in our designs and products.

A little about you…

I am lucky to live in the English countryside in a small village, we have a pub, a small shop and two churches. The local roads are a Cycling paradise, in the countryside with few cars and sometimes it doesn’t even rain, so I spend some time doing that. My wife and I have a Motorhome which we enjoy taking it away to different areas with our 2 dogs and exploring. I am also a qualified Yacht skipper and we sometimes charter yachts in nice areas of the world. And to really get away from all the stresses of life Fishing, a couple of hours sitting quietly by a river or lake is just what the Doctor ordered to de-stress and recharge the batteries and if that is combined with camping so much the better.

What are your credentials/past experience, for working in your position?

I have been in the printing/coating industry from the start of my career and have also grown up with the industry and been lucky to see the rise of industrial inkjet applications in particular, when I first started in the lab mixing inks, I was in the industrial ink group back then it was the black sheep of the department, but I was always interested in the potential of implementing inkjet into new areas. I got to experience this firsthand at Industrial Inkjet Ltd who are building single pass print engines, I got to be part of some industry firsts, and experience niche applications it was the biggest learning curve in my career from a technical point of view. Next, I took on the challenge of moving to Germany and going back to the ink side at indujet/Marabu. In Product Management you must be flexible and adaptable and able to make the right decisions fast. All my experiences put together have enabled me to have a rounded technical knowledge of all aspects of print and coating and this is invaluable in my current role.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

I started just one year ago at IST INTECH and for me, the decision to join was based on the passion the people had for pushing the company to the next level. Also, I was impressed by the products themselves, even being in the print industry before I had not given too much thought to what goes into developing and building a UV system. Like most things, there is more to it than you think, and it struck me how much knowledge was in the company and the small details that made a difference in an effective UV system. For me, it must be more than just a job as I must believe in what I am doing. I want to contribute to the company’s vision and be part of continuing our goal which is to be pioneering and drive LED technology into new market areas.

What is your background?

I had a slightly unconventional path to where I am today, but I see that as a positive as it has given me many life experiences and challenges, I always say it makes for a good story! I did things backwards in some ways, I studied while working and having a family which was not the most relaxing experience! From a young age I was fascinated by travel and other cultures, I did not get to experience this in till my early teens when I went to Austria on a school skiing trip. I spent my free time walking around the town and taking everything in, since that point, I always had the dream of living in a different country, which happened when I moved to Germany. It was a great decision, I got to see things from a whole different perspective. I think one of the hardest challenges in my life was learning German! But I am also proud of this achievement and Germany is my home now I just wish they had crumpets and fish and chips! Then it would be perfect.

What are the values that drive you?

I have always pushed myself and did things that seemed at the time impossible, but I am a great believer in going outside the comfort zone and taking a risk. Also, for me, a key point is that having been a parent and also a single parent I have always been an advocate for the fact that it is possible to have a career and a family equally for women as is for men. I am active in this topic especially in Germany as in some regions it is still a challenge to be working parents especially both working Full-Time, unfortunately, there are childcare issues and still some stigma of having a career and children. Of course, being from a technical background I am also keen on encouraging more women to come into the world of industrial print and coating, it still is a male-dominated industry. I believe that as many different perspectives and outlooks will only improve and keep the industry innovative and forward-thinking.

What are your favourite books/films?

I only read non-fiction these days as I have limited time. Since I am an avid history fan, my favourite period being the Tudors I often read history-based books. One book I love is The Death of Kings: A Medical History of the Kings and Queens of England. It gives evaluations of the cause of deaths I find the history of medicine an interesting topic. An interesting book that I feel relates to explaining also why Business Development people are an interesting breed is The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. If you read it, you will see he explains the different types of personalities and how they interact, and I see BDM people as a combination of a connector and salesperson. Connectors are people that know everyone and link everyone together, Salesman can build instant rapport with another person and are persuaders.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

Well, my kids always say I should get more hobbies. But they do not see my hobbies as fun I suppose, they think cleaning is my hobby as I love the Marie Kondo principle. Sounds crazy but I find it relaxing to organise and I do have one of those clothes folding boards (like Sheldon in Big Bang). I am also a big fan of reusing and repurposing, so I enjoy doing projects at home that involve these aspects and I am an avid sustainable fashion fan, so I buy and sell second-hand clothes. I also help organise and take part in an International Parents group in my local area. Where we normally arrange meetups and events to connect people especially for supporting new families coming to Germany.

What are your credentials/past experience, for working in your position?

I have always worked within sales and business development and began my career in the UV industry a little over 8 years ago. Previously I worked for a 3rd party medium pressure UV lamp manufacturer based in the UK and supported global sales of UV lamps and core components.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

The great thing about my current role is that each day is very different. UV can be used in many applications across a number of industries, and I have the opportunity to work closely with OEM’s on new projects which are very much at the early design/development stages.

What are your favourite books/films?

I have never been much of a reader but when I do read, I enjoy autobiography’s and am currently reading Will by Will Smith. I listen to podcasts a lot and currently listen regularly to Shagged, Married, annoyed & The diary of a CEO.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my family and having two children certainly keeps me on my toes. I enjoy mountain biking, Ice Hockey, NFL, hiking, camping, and I am currently learning to swim. I have a passion for fine coffee and can often be found in the kitchen experimenting with different coffees of the world and brew ratios /methods.

What are your credentials/past experience, for working in your position?

I have been with IST INTECH for 18 years. Prior to this, I worked in the automation industry first as a designer, then latterly as a project manager. Working for high volume manufacturers and the automotive industry. I installed UV systems as part of automated processes on several of the projects during this period.
Just prior to IST INTECH, I spent 3 years working for a tier 1 automotive supplier in the US.

I also have a Masters degree in Advance Manufacturing Systems.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

Within IST INTECH, there is a great freedom to develop new ideas. We work very closely as a team, bouncing ideas and customer requests into design briefs.
I love the ability to sketch out ideas with my team on white boards, within weeks see “string and chewing gum” prototypes and then in a matter of months nicely honed products being photographed for data sheets, exhibitions and boxed for sale.

The main joy of working for a medium sized company is the ability to get involved in every stage of the design and development. We use tools such as flow and thermodynamic simulation, but we also are happy to use simple models and prototypes where appropriate.

What is your background?

I don’t come from an engineering background. None of my parents, parents friends or relatives were engineers. However, when I was growing up, I had a love of lego (Meccano was bit expensive), and I loved building machines and mechanisms. I once build a rather crude automatic gearbox from lego, after being inspired by a television programme. Of course my favourite subject at school was engineering drawing.

What are the values that drive you?

I am a great believer in enthusiasm. Whenever I’m looking for new staff, the most important credential to me is enthusiasm. I want my staff to want to come to work, I want them to love the projects they are working on, and to be thoroughly bought into the process of making it a success.

I’d like to think I lead by example. I try to be fair, calm and open to ideas and suggestions. I won’t ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t be prepared to do myself.

What are your favourite books/films?

I tend to only read when on holiday, where I’m quite happy sitting for 4 or 5hrs reading a book. I have a good friend who is an author, who keeps my wife and I in touch with current literature. So my choice is usually based on these.

My favourite book without a doubt is Canery Row by John Steinbeck. It’s a beautifully written portrayal of human kindness and interaction.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

My lifelong passion is Hang Gliding, I started at 18 while at university, bought my 1st glider in my second year, and have owned one ever since. Outside work and during the summer months I become very difficult to tie down in advance. The British weather is a fickle thing, and I absolutely hate missing a great hang gliding day. I have flown, in gliders, microlight aircraft, hot air balloons, light aircraft, and even had a helicopter lesson, but I love the beauty and freedom of hang gliding.

I also run a few times a week, – I’m still relatively hopeless, and quite enjoy growing tomatoes, chillies and potatoes!

What are your credentials/past experience, for working in your position?

Having worked in Warehousing for a few years, my previous company re-located their wine & spirits franchise to Yorkshire and I joined the company still fairly in its infancy in February 2004 under the instructions of “they’re looking for someone with a fork lift licence” and quickly realised they had a fork lift truck that was used on very rare occasions! I began my life here in stores, Goods In and Despatch with pen & paper and learned the hard way. Some 6 months later computers were installed and eventually I was able to redesign stores and introduce bin locations to make picking parts a simpler process.

About 2 years later SAP was introduced and a year or so later I was asked if I could take on the newly created role of Production Planner and develop it further.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

Having been in my current role from its inception, I have been tasked with developing and evolving the role in all its diversity and streamlining to increase output as the company has evolved and grown. I have expanded my knowledge and put it to good use and it’s good to feel that all the hard work to get to this stage is acknowledged and appreciated.

What is your background?

I spent my early years in South Manchester and at the tender of 6 my parents relocated to Oxfordshire. After leaving school I worked in an Ironmongers for 4 years before joining the Royal Air Force, mostly based in Uxbridge Middlesex working in a section where we would investigate near misses (aircraft – Joint RAF/CAA). It was an incredibly interesting job, it would take around 6 months to fully investigate each case, on average there were around 200 per year and once a month a working group would take our evidence and convene to try and find root cause. Occasionally they would make recommendations to make the skies safer. Listening to some of the pilot audio and air traffic controllers was a good insight and, in most cases, had to be quoted for evidence.

After leaving I joined some of my colleagues who had moved on to Cornwall for a while, driving delivery vehicles, mostly dealing in the livestock industry. Mad Cow disease in the mid 90’s devastated the industry and while it was a nice area it proved difficult to find work.

I moved back to Oxfordshire, obtained a forklift licence and worked in Car Headlamp Manufacture and a Wines, Spirits & Cigarettes warehouse before joining my present company.

What are the values that drive you?

I’m a firm believer that any issues that arise is a challenge to be solved. I like to think I can make a positive difference whilst also thinking of others at the same time/how can it affect them? Production Planning is a very detailed job which demands time to focus and concentrate. I like to take ownership and understand the team core values and try to influence voices around me to do the same. We are in this together.

What are your favourite books/films?

I enjoy reading, I’m interested in history which can cover a wide range of topics and sport. History in particular makes us what we are.

I like the Last of the Tzar’s and other books referencing the Russian Revolution, The Romanov’s and Bolsheviks – perhaps because it takes me into a very different world and gives a good insight into how brutal some societies can be to affect change.

Other books that particularly interest me, The Great Fire and the 2nd Anglo Dutch War of the 1660’s, and Waterloo by Tim Clayton. I try to put myself in their position at the time and understand how really tough life was and how the British people of the time overcame adversity.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

My 2 children keep me very busy; my daughter is slightly easier, I can drop her at Girl Guides once a week and let her get on with it. My son devours more of my time, he plays football for a local under 16 team for which I am also the assistant coach. Once a week I assist with the training, we are quite successful, so I feel I am doing something right. During the season we can travel quite extensively throughout Oxfordshire and Warwickshire almost every weekend. I also maintain the website for the Under 16’s and write up every match report.

During the week I use some of my spare time helping out the Ambulance Service getting patients to and from their hospital appointments. This varies from week to week from 4 to 8 hours.

How did your journey with IST INTECH begin?

I joined IST INTECH in 2016. After working 15 years in the offset printing industry, I have decided to switch jobs. It all started when I was joining the JGAS exhibition at the Tokyo Big Site. There I met David Johnson, Sales Director for Integration Technology. They were looking for a BDM in Europe. To be honest it was a nice conversation, but what can you do with UV? After some research, I found out that the UV business was not only growing a lot, but also the markets/applications where you can use UV technology are almost unlimited.

What do you enjoy about your role within IST INTECH?

The markets we are operating in are very diverse. One day you are working for the wood industry, the next day for the printed electronics, or disinfection, and so on… Together with a great team from IST INTECH we are fulfilling our customer’s needs. It is really satisfying to explore new markets and solutions that lead to great corporations and new innovations. It is never boring.

Why do you think customers choose IST INTECH?

As an Innovative company like IST INTECH, we are always pioneering and searching for new UV markets and applications. In these days, there are more demands of special products and customisation. The industry has to be flexible in changing their processes quickly. IST INTECH has the capability to think with the customer and come to right solution that leads to greater products, processes, and cost savings. For us, a customer is a partner.

A little about you…

I’m happily married with Jolanda, and we have two great kids. I like traveling, playing tennis, cycling, and going out with my metal detector. I also like to relax with a good glass of red wine at the fireplace reading a book.

How did your journey with IST INTECH begin?

I joined IST INTECH in 2007 as an office junior, I’ve been very lucky that I have managed to gain a lot of experience by working within different areas of the business, so I could gain a full understanding of how the company runs. Over time I moved into the sales team, deciding this is the area of the business I enjoyed working within the most.

What do you enjoy about your role within IST INTECH?

I really enjoy my role as it is so varied, most of my time is spent directly with customers or our sales team, but I also really enjoy the “behind the scenes” work with our production and engineering team. It’s nice to see both sides of the coin and see the hard work being put in has a positive impact on our customers experience.

Why do you think customers choose IST INTECH?

IST INTECH is a pioneering, innovative company, with an in depth understanding of UV curing applications. We offer a range of product options from our standard off the shelf product, to a tailored standard product and we also collaborate on special projects with our customers. With this approach we can be flexible and work alongside our customers instead of just selling a UV system.

A little about you…

When I am not at work, I am kept busy with my children. I am a big Formula 1 fan, so any Sunday a Grand Prix is on I can be found watching it, and if I have any spare time left over, it is spent socialising with my friends.

What are your credentials/past experience, for working in your position?

After my degree, I entered the electronics industry as a hard-working engineer. I worked my way through production, test & repair, and quality for many years until I made the jump to quality systems management.

Later adding in expertise in the fields of Health & Safety and Environmental management and designing and implementing entire systems for these areas.

The benefit of this journey was that I am uniquely placed within this company to understand and help each department, as I have experience working within all areas and aspects to a greater or lesser degree.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

IST INTECH is a company with passion and technological interest. It allows me to bring my skills in quality & H&S to use, but also to flex my interest in technology and electronics. It has interesting interdepartmental dynamics to explore and help refine, and some very talented individuals to work with.

What are the values that drive you?

I am a firm believer in maximising the potential of those around me. In any company, every individual will bring a unique set of skills, drives, and experience to the table. And I believe in finding the voices that each have and using their knowledge and influence to help me make the workplace a safer and more productive one. Where the whole workforce can help us to work smarter, better, and more successfully to achieve our goals, both individually and as a company.

What are your favourite books/films?

I am a real movie buff, so they are usually my go-to form of entertainment. My collection is around 3,000 strong across the various physical formats, and I have converted my study to be a full movie library.

As for favourites, I am a huge fan of Wes Craven’s Scream. I adore the way it both deconstructed a genre and simultaneously reinvigorated it. In books, I read a lot of Stephen King, and King’s IT is my favourite book of all time. And despite its near 2,000 pages, I re-read it about once a year.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

I got into martial arts as a way to stay in shape, joining a local Kung Fu club. Nearly two decades later and I have five black sashes (belts) in Lau Gar Kung Fu, and (until the recent pandemic) taught a club of my own. With a mostly adult and experienced group of fighters, our club has been a place to learn and train in some of the more dangerous elements of the form. Including many weapons such as swords, staff, butterfly knives, and spears.

Many is the session in which we would set up tournament competitions consisting of one-on-one or sometimes even multiple opponents against a single fighter.

But outside of the fighting, I find the passion in Kung Fu lives in the form and fluidity of the style. And simply the joy of training, learning, and teaching a new skill.

What are your credentials/past experience, for working in your position?

I have worked in a variety of finance roles over the last 20+ years and became a qualified accountant (CGMA) in 2012. Over this time, I have worked in retail, the public sector and manufacturing as well as for varying sized companies. Not only has this given me a broad financial knowledge, but it has also exposed me to working in different corporate cultures.

What do you like about working at IST INTECH?

I came to work for IST INTECH because it is an innovative, technology driven company. Whether it is working with customers, looking at market trends or exploring new markets, the company is constantly looking to the future. The company also values it employees input and is happy to let people utilise skills that aren’t necessarily their core competence to help bring a different perspective.

What do you enjoy when you are not working?

Outside of work I like to stay active and took up running around 7yrs ago. I started out with road running but prefer to get out into the countryside running on trails. I like to have events to train for and have run multiple half marathons, a few marathons and my longest run so far was a 50k ultra.

To help with the running I also go to the gym to work on my strength and as another challenge, I have entered a couple of National Fitness Games competitions.