People Spotlight: Adrian Hughes

For our next Spotlight, we sat down with Adrian Hughes, Project Manager in our waste team. Adrian is a key member of our crew who manages customer relationships.

Tell us about your career journey so far

I graduated uni in the mid 90’s with a degree in biological sciences and have had a wide range of jobs since then! From barista, stock auditor and lab analyst I moved into sales, where I worked for around 14 years. I joined Horizons to use my sales and waste water treatment experience to help grow our liquid and food waste businesses, and have been here for three years.

What do you like best about your job?

Meeting customers! I love getting out and about and meeting new people so managing our customer relationships is my favourite part of my role.

What surprises people about your role?

How much I travel on the job! With face-to-face meetings becoming the norm again, I really believe there’s no substitute for meeting customers in person. This way I’m able to truly understand their needs whilst building strong working relationships.

What do you think makes a good salesperson?

If you enjoy meeting people, are a good listener and are conscientious about delivering on your promises to customers, then sales is the job for you!

What does a typical weekend look like for you?

I do the “big shop” done early on a Saturday morning and then prepare some meals for the week ahead. Afternoons I usually spend at a play park with my family.

Sundays are a blur of football and swimming lessons, with a McDonalds happy meal for my sons afterwards – I can usually convince them to ‘share’ a chicken nugget or two!

What’s your favourite movie and why?

The movie Chinatown. It’s a complex crime story, centring on mis-use of natural resources in California, in the 1960’s. It also features one of my favourite actors, Jack Nicholson.

What’s your favourite childhood memory?

When I was about seven, I found a 50p piece, and treated myself to not one, but two Picnic chocolate bars, which had just appeared in shops. I’d like to say I shared one with my three brothers, but I scoffed them both!

What would be the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?

I’d pay off the mortgages for all my close family members and send my sons to private school. Of course, I would also have to have a huge party to celebrate with all my loved ones!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

If you remain true to yourself, and the values that are important to you, you’ll end up where you belong in life.

Thanks Adrian! To read the rest of our Spotlight series, click here.