Name: Lisa Whitfield
Job title: Managing Director UK & Ireland
Tell us a bit about yourself
I’m married to Simon and we have two boys, Charlie, 23, and Harry, 19, and a very needy Cavapoo dog called Cooper, who is six and follows us everywhere. We live in Teesside and are big football followers and, despite living in Middlesbrough FC territory, we are huge Newcastle United fans. Simon and I love to walk and recently completed the Cleveland Way, doing it in stages over a number of weekends. Our next challenge is to do the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike, the last of which we have already done.
Describe your job to a five-year-old
I help to make the toilets that you sit on when you go for a wee!
What do you like most about your job?
I love that I get to meet and interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures and that no two days are ever the same.
How did you get here?
Joining Ideal Standard is like the coming together of the previous two parts of my career over the last 30 years. I worked for Newell Brands, who are based in Atlanta in the US and have more than 130 brands, including many very popular in the UK such as Sharpie, Paper Mate and Graco but also well-known British brands like Berol and Parker. They are sold through pretty much every national retailer here, so I spent a lot of time helping to grow those brands in British retailers.
The second part of my career was with Interface, a global commercial flooring company whose business is heavily B2B, where their products are installed in places like offices, schools and hospitals, very similar to Ideal Standard’s project work.
What motivates you?
Making a difference; there is nothing better than seeing brands grow and people happy and enjoying their work.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
Joe Biden. I think US politics have such a huge influence on the world and it has been crazy to watch over the last 10 years.
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
From Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”
Your favourite app?
Sky News, it’s the first and last thing I look at every day.
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
I was the Royal Warrant Holder for The Parker Pen Company for King Charles. I had been invited to a garden party at Clarence House and was introduced to the then Prince Charles, who spotted my name badge and asked me “When are you going to invent a fountain pen that doesn’t leak all over my writing pad?”
I meant to reply by saying we were working on a pen that offers a new writing experience only I missed out the word “writing”. I said to him “We’re developing a pen that offers a whole new experience”.
He raised his eyebrows and said “oo-er” and he then started laughing. Everybody around also burst out laughing, meanwhile I blushed like I have never blushed before in my life! He shook my hand and smiled as he walked away.
Anyway, we did send him the pen and subsequently his private secretary returned it with a note saying he didn’t like it!