In the Driving Seat: Paul Jones, Chief Executive, NAA

3rd April 20

Here’s your chance to find out more about Paul Jones, the NAA’s new Chief Executive; Paul’s business advice is to ‘always expect the unexpected and try to be prepared to deal with it’ – which seems very appropriate at this time…

Name
Paul Jones

Company
NAA

Position
Chief Executive

Apart from that
Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Chair of its Automobile Division Board. Non-Executive Director at Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Association with NAA
New starter

Why did you join the NAA?
Following a professional lifetime (30+ years) working in the North West’s automotive industry with PACCAR (Foden Trucks) and Bentley Motors, it’s a sector that I understand and I’m passionate about. Add into the mix my energy, enthusiasm and network; I know that I can genuinely make a difference for the benefit of the NAA and its members.

Personal
Home is Heswall on the Wirral where I live with my wife Liz and two children; Lexi and Nick. Hobbies include running, skiing, motorcycles, classic cars, powerboating and DIY (I previously spent 7 years completely renovating a mid-Victorian farmhouse).

Favourite football team
I haven’t followed it actively since school, when it was Liverpool.

Musical performer
A wide range of artists from the Beatles to Razorlight; I particularly like female solo artists from Nina Simone to Amy Winehouse.

Movie
The Italian Job with Michael Caine who described it as “a snapshot of that time and perfectly encapsulated the decade: the cars, the fashion, the fun and the optimistic attitude that was in the air”.

Books
Any of the James Bond novels.

Best motoring moment
Driving the San Juan Skyway (or Million Dollar Highway, owing to the value of the gold that was extracted during its construction in the 1930s) in Colorado, in a Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible that I had both conceived and developed.  Climbing to over 11,000 feet, the 230-mile route visits Telluride (where Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank) and Ouray (where John Wayne filmed True Grit).

Best business advice you’ve ever received?
Always expect the unexpected and try to be prepared to deal with it.