Penny speed meets ... Nick Turner, Axa Personal Lines

What was your first ever job, and were you any good at it?
Stacking the shelves for Waitrose when I was 15 and I was pretty good at it too.

If an MP3 player really could only hold three tunes, what would you select for the ultimate soundtrack to your life?
James Brown - I Feel Good; Steve Harley & The Cockney Rebels - Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me); Bruce Springsteen - Downbound Train.

Who was your top teenage pin-up?
I seem to recall a photo of Hinge and Bracket.

My colleagues won’t know this about me but...
I have played guitar and sung on a stage once used by The Beatles and supported the ‘Rolling Clones’. Fame indeed!

Favourite book of all time?
Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Buy the best shoes as anything else is a false economy.

What would be your chosen superpower?
To be able to fix anything. I am deeply impractical when it comes to DIY.

If you could be Prime Minister for the day, what change would you instigate and why?
I would explore the Adam Smith paper issued a couple of years ago that proposed a universal 10% rate of taxation.

How would a typical school report about you read?
I try not to think too much about my appalling school reports.

My top tip for climbing the insurance career ladder is...
Seek feedback; think about environments you thrive in and find them; seek roles you excel in; be comfortable in your own skin; try not to be all things to all people.

What’s the most annoying thing people do in your office?
Remove my rubbish bin to encourage me to recycle more

My last supper would comprise...
It would almost certainly be oriental, with crispy duck in there

Who has been the most influential person in your life to date?
Over the past 12 years I’ve had 12 bosses and can honestly say I have learned something from every one of them.

When I’m not working I like to...
Draw graphic novels or walk our two bearded collies.

Last film you saw?
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - maybe it was just me, but how dull was that?

If I wasn’t working in insurance I would probably be...
Running my own business.

Name your five ideal dinner party guests (dead or alive) noting what they bring to the party
Michael Jackson - to know if he really was that odd; Peter Cook - I’m smiling at the one-legged man applying to play Tarzan; Margaret Thatcher - where there is despair, she could bring hope; Sir Walter Raleigh - could bring the potatoes; David Niven - perfect diction and a reminder of how to be English.

Marmite: foods of the gods or work of the devil?
Food of the Gods - no doubt.

Career high point to date?
This is it!

What do you say when strangers at a social gathering ask what you do for a living?
I am proud to be in insurance so I tell the truth, always have.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?
Churchill’s war rooms under the Treasury during Second World War to see the order and chaos, the tension and anticipation of the time all laid out in front of the war cabinet.

Finish this sentence: Insurance is a great industry to work in because...
We help the world manage risk and uncertainty - we enable the human race to be bold and achieve amazing things.

Would you like to be probed by Penny on one of her speed meets? Get in touch via lynn.rouse@incisivemedia.com