I arrive at my office at 7.30am after a leisurely 12-minute walk from my house on the edge of the campus. When I started at Warwick, I commuted from Stratford-upon-Avon along the M40, which took me 20-25 minutes. Six years ago I decided the whole process was far too boring, and that there were better things I could do with my time.
Once I get to my office, I look through my e-mails and correspondence, and react appropriately. I recently had a complaint from an academic at the university who took issue with the fact that the refectory was full of studying students and there were no spare seats. As far as I'm concerned, the appropriate action was to delegate to the operations manager - it's what being a chairman is all about, after all.
At 8.30am my personal assistant and I discuss my day ahead over a cup of tea. The rest of my day consists of back-to-back meetings - perhaps five or six in total - covering everything from meeting with external recruitment agencies if we're looking for staff, to talks about our on-site accommodation.
Lunch is usually a sandwich on campus, worked in around my schedule some time during the early afternoon, with whichever friend drops me a line or e-mail. Unexpected visitors drop in during the working day, especially the university landscape consultant who has a habit of appearing outside my office without warning. Usually I have a meeting about to start, so the consultant disappears as quickly as he arrived and occupies himself with the campus shrubs.
If I've had a few too many pointless meetings during the week - the sort that are purely political - my teeth are normally aching from constant grinding. It is at this point that I encourage my PA to lose me.
I firmly believe it's important to spend time walking the campus because it's the only true way to find out just what is happening on the frontline. I've been at Warwick for 15 years, but I still look forward to the monthly staff induction. As we continue to grow the conferencing side of the business, staff levels are increasing accordingly. I really enjoy talking to the new starters and articulating my passion for hospitality. In return, their interest and pride in being at Warwick Conferences never fails to knock me out.
I usually leave the office by 5.30pm and take some "light reading" home with me. Evening relaxation for me is taking my cocker spaniel, Poppet (after Payne's Poppets) for a walk.
I have five children living around the globe, in Australia, the south of France, the Midlands and London, so visiting them is fun. My weekends are often spent walking in the beautiful Cotswolds, or sometimes just relaxing quietly at home with a weekend newspaper.
Interview by Chris Druce
Factfile
Warwick Conferences University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL
Tel: 024 7652 3222
Web: www.warwickconferences.com
Turnover: £17m
Delegates: 85,000 a year, spread between academic (35%), financial, pharmaceutical and utility sectors
Just a minute...
If you weren't at Warwick, where would you be?
Heading up a charity. It's the interaction with people I love. Warwick may be a company but it's still pleasantly altruistic.
What's been your most exciting moment while at Warwick?
It has to be when President Clinton gave a speech on globalisation at the university in 2000. There must have been nearly as many press as secret service on campus, and my lasting memory of the day was the sense of power projected by the USA - very different to our governmental style.
What do you hope to be remember for?
For championing customer care in the whole of the university.
Tell us a secret
I wass once a rector of the Church of England in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Grateful thanks to air ambulance service
The staff of Warwick Conferences have donated a cheque for several hundred pounds to the county air ambulance, after the service helped to save colleague David Hawkins's life after a motorcycle crash in Oxfordshire last October.
Hawkins recently returned to work at Warwick Conferences' Radcliffe management training centre.
He has pledged to make an annual donation of £100 to the service to show his gratitude.