Name: Aiden Cowling
Job title: Key Account Manager
Tell us a bit about yourself
I live near Southampton with my wife Kaeli and son Arthur on the edge of the New Forest. In my spare time I like playing golf (badly) and going to our local, the Dusty Barrel. I also used to do a lot of mountain biking which is something I’ll be starting back soon – my bike was my pride and joy before it became a cobweb manufacturing facility two years ago!
When I can I’ll watch the F1 (which used to be interesting), rugby (please send help for the six nations) and MMA.
Describe your job to a five-year-old
I keep calling people until they give in and agree to talk to me about toilets.
What do you like most about your job?
Talking about design-led products and creating unique/different specifications to your “standard bathroom”
How did you get here?
I fell into sales at a young age. I planned to join the Army but I’m mostly blind in one eye. Apparently “it’s not safe to operate a firearm with limited vision” or something… Anyway, I ended up taking a role in estate agency and found out I was pretty good at it, then my career naturally progressed from there through a couple of industry-linked moves. I spent a few years in builder’s merchants in sales, ran a branch and then decided to make a move into the manufacturing world to broaden my skillset.
What motivates you?
I love having a good work-life balance – some days it’s seeing the “wins” come from the work I do with our customers, and other days it’s closing my laptop and knowing I don’t have to think about or speak to any of them for a few days!
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
Charles Leclerc’s therapist. I’d love to just find out if he’s OK. If you know, you know.
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
“This ****’s chess, it ain’t checkers.” Training Day is my all-time favourite film. It could easily be the only film I watch for the rest of my life.
Your favourite app?
Spotify. I love music and there are three podcasts I listen to regularly – Two Bears One Cave, Real Ones and Parenting Hell. The train would be soul destroying without these, especially because the wi-fi never works!
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
Some years ago, I was taking photos of a property. There was a pond outside in communal grounds and through the living room window I saw a heron on the edge of the bank. I didn’t want to miss my chance, so I stopped what I was doing inside and quietly left the patio doors, crept down the garden and crouched to get a good shot of it. How odd you say, birds are normally spooked quite easily, you say? Well it’s interesting how poorly they can move or fly when they’re made of plastic. I can only imagine what the other residents were thinking when some absolute donut is Bear Grylls-ing his way along the grass to take a photo of a fake bird. They say the great outdoors can level anyone’s ego, but it’s amazing how little I had to travel to find that out.
Aiden is pictured with former England Rugby Union player Toby Flood.