Bill Lynn, Chief executive, storeys:ssp

Mar 22 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

PROPERTY agents storeys:ssp has been based in the same Newcastle location for almost 120 years. After rejecting four recent merger approaches, the well-known company’s chief executive Bill Lynn tells Peter McCusker that the business is staying put for many more years to come.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

What car do you drive?

911 Porsche Carrera.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

The Wolseley, London.

Who or what makes you laugh?

Sean Lock, but it’s not too hard.

What’s your favourite book?

Stieg Larsson crime novels.

What’s your favourite film?

The Godfather.

What was the last album you bought?

Genesis – Best of.

What’s your ideal job, other than your current one?

Professional sportsman.

If you had a talking parrot, what’s the first thing you’d teach it to say?

Think before you speak.

What’s your greatest fear?

Not being fit in old age.

What’s the best piece of business advice you have ever received?

Choose your friends well.

Worst business advice?

Wait and see!

What’s your poison?

White wine.

What newspaper do you read, other than The Journal?

The Times.

How much was your first pay packet and what was it for?

Stacking shelves in Laws Stores, but I can’t remember what I was paid.

How do you keep fit?

Golf and skiing.

What’s your most irritating habit?

I’m hyperactive so I’m always tapping (feet, pens, hands etc!) or humming tunes.

What’s your biggest extravagance?

911 Porsche Carrera.

Which historical or fictional character do you most identify with/admire?

I don’t identify with any, but I admire big figures who stepped up such as Churchill or Wellington.

And which famous people would you most like to dine with?

Jack Nicklaus, Jennifer Aniston, Winston Churchill and Warren Buffett.

How would you like to be remembered?

Loyal, honest and straightforward.