My first job was when I was 13.I ran my own business buying bikes, taking them apart, re-spraying them and rebuilding them. I would then sell them in the local newspaper sometimes making a 25% margin.

My first role on an actual payroll was when I was at college studying business studies. I worked for Argos, which was then part of the BAT industries group. I would get up at 6am and cycle four miles into Shrewsbury to check in deliveries with the store manager in readiness for the opening at 9am.

So why HR? From my student days, I got the bug for retail so it seemed natural to apply for graduate retail management schemes. I joined Sainsbury's initially on the retail side but during my promotion panel was asked to join the head office HR team heading up a training project on a new automated ordering system.

All my experiences showed me the importance of being commercial, something I put top of my list of attributes an HR professional should possess.