BusinessCar’s deputy editor Paul Barker puts 13 questions to Nationwide Autocentre’s chief executive Duncan Wilkes
1. What was your first job? Other than student jobs my first job was as a systems engineer for ICL (a large compute company)
2. What was your first company car? A 2 year old Vauxhall Cavalier – but it seemed like heaven at the time
3. What did you listen to on your last car journey? Radio 4 (To my daughter’s disgust)
4. What one thing do you wish you could do better? Say no quicker to time wasting ideas
5. What’s your biggest achievement? My daughter (excepting her taste in music)
6. Who are your role models? People I have worked with who have maintained integrity under pressure
7. What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done? Coming out of retirement to play a testimonial game of rugby last year (still hurting)
8. What was the most hotly debated topic at your last meeting? Should we grow our number of centres more by acquisition or by greenfield openings (of course we decided to do both)
9. What’s in your garage? Lot’s of gardening equipment and bikes – no cars
10. What’s the worst thing about your job? Too much time on the M40
11. What one law would you make or change? Capital punishment for anyone able bodied who parks in a disabled space
12. What keeps you awake at night? Nothing
13. Who is your ideal celebrity date? Felicity Kendall in 1980
