Stuck in the Lift with… Simon Atkinson, Purchasing and Operations Manager, Asia Pacific

Australia’s thriving tech sector, culture of sustainability, time and physical distance to the wider Asia-Pacific region has made it an obvious next step for Techbuyer’s international growth and Simon is the man that’s going to make it happen! Living in a small village in East Yorkshire for almost his entire life, the piano playing family man is going to be our first member of staff in Australia, setting up the new operations. Here’s our short interview with Simon Atkinson, Purchasing and Operations Manager, Asia Pacific.

Where did you grow up? I grew up in a small village in East Yorkshire, close to the famous coal mines and power stations of Yorkshire. I’ve pretty much lived in that area my entire life, except for a year in London.

What's your first memory? Receiving some Superman pyjamas as a Christmas present when I was about 3 or 4 years old. They were pretty much threadbare from constant wear and wash! And yes I still wear them.

What did you want to be when growing up? Like lots of lads, I wanted to be a footballer, but I was never good enough. I moved on to wanting to photograph football (seemed a good way to get in for free), but I didn’t have the photographer’s eye so had to set less glamourous expectations. Pretty sad I didn’t have the legs or eyes to make it in football.

What are you most excited about moving to Australia? Workwise, it’s an amazing opportunity for me to expand Techbuyer’s global reach and help build something exciting with the other Techbuyer teams in that region. We already have lots of loyal customers in Asia-Pacific and opening a warehouse in the region means we can offer 1 or 2 day delivery across Asia-Pacific. From a personal perspective: the chance to see my three children enjoy a new way of life.

What are you most going to miss moving to Australia? Other than family, it’ll be things like watching English football on TV at a reasonable time of day. Also, maybe just a light covering of snow!

What is your favourite thing to do out of work? I enjoy eating out as a treat. There are some excellent restaurants across the UK, especially in Yorkshire. Hopefully, I can hunt down some great restaurants in Melbourne too! I’ll be quite happy with a daily barbeque.

Tell us something we don't know about you... I learnt to play the piano to grade 3 at the age of 8. However, don’t expect any of those spontaneous public performances because now I can barely play Chopsticks on a keyboard!