The Person Behind the Face - Rob Mackenzie
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My first job… I was an engineering graduate marketing trainee with Perkins Engines in 1979 - it finally came in useful when I had to bleed the fuel line while sailing in Turkey this summer. How I got into this industry… I blame James Gower. I’d finished running the British International Motor Show in 2008 when James started talking to me about the potential for a major boat show in Liverpool. I joined him on the very first ‘Seeing is Believing’ tour to the Albert Docks and I came away a believer. The best advice I’ve ever received… 25% of bugger-all is bugger-all. You should really read… Seven Pillars of Wisdom – the story of Lawrence of Arabia, the revolt in the desert and the taking of Damascus. One thing the industry needs less of is… The London Boat Show. Only kidding. My best hire… I wouldn’t presume to call it a hiring, but we persuaded Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to be the Patron of Liverpool Boat Show and Chairman of our Steering Committee. He’s well-loved in Liverpool and has been a tireless ambassador and tremendous friend for Liverpool Boat Show ever since. Don’t worry about… When people say it can’t be done, because it almost always can be – but never by them. How I cope with stress… I eat too much. I was a thin man once, and look at me now. If I met Portsmouth Poll in a dark alley I’d… Ask her if she knew John Goode. Whenever I’m walking down dark alleys in Liverpool with John, all the ladies seem to greet him like a long-lost friend, so maybe he’s been to Portsmouth too. Rob Mackenzie is chairman of the Liverpool Boat Show 2011 |
