From the Express and Echo 05/11/08

Name and age: Chris Lorimer, 41 (sadly I look older!), director of business and marketing, Exeter College.

First job (& pay-packet): Petrol pump attendant – £2 an hour.

What I’ve done in my career and how I got where I am today: I left Nottingham University with an archaeology degree and then joined Barclays Bank on its leadership programme.

I worked for the bank for 15 years and had a wide range of jobs – marketing, strategy, operations, risk analysis and sales. A large part of my career was involved in corporate banking and I was corporate director in the Midlands and London. My last role for the Barclays was head of operational excellence for the international and private bank.

In 2005, I left Barclays to relocate to the South West and take up this fantastic role at Exeter College.

I did it because I was spending too long in London and overseas and I seldom saw my children apart from at weekends. You realise life is passing you by without enjoying it as much as you should.

I have always been interested in teaching but haven’t been able to do the move for financial reasons, so an alternative was to go in at a higher level as a director.

My current job is much closer to my values and much more fulfilling. You won’t be surprised to learn that many of my old banking colleagues are wishing they had taken a similar career step.

Career high point: I loved my first real leadership job – as head of small business for Barclays – because of the enormous variety of businesses we were involved with. Also, winning national awards for introducing lean manufacturing techniques into Barclays was a great experience.

My current role is a real high point for me. It’s about everything from student recruitment and marketing and also primarily about employer engagement. We are here to support all the businesses across Exeter and Devon, whether they are a large player like Flybe, which we have a great working relationship with, to sole traders. I am very excited by the plans that Exeter College has to support students and employers across the region.

Career low point: Commuting to London from the Midlands for the best part of five years was pretty horrible – I wouldn’t recommend it, particularly if you have four children, as I do.

When I’m not working I like to: Be with my family – they are always doing something, especially music and rugby (my boys play for Cullompton RFC) – watching the Exeter Chiefs thrash the opposition, and pottering about in my garden. We also keep a few animals – pigs, chickens, ducks – which add a further level of chaos.

Things I’ve learned that I wish I’d known when I started: Never ever compromise on hiring the best people you can and always look for attitude over knowledge and skills when recruiting them.

I have always taken the view from quite an early stage that when you are hiring new staff you can quite quickly teach them the rudimentary knowledge they need to be effective, but it’s actually really difficult to give them the skills to get on with people and have a fantastic work ethic.

My advice to someone starting out in business now: Do something you enjoy and don’t be afraid to change direction if you have to.

I have changed career and many people I know have been flexible in their careers and have found it immensely rewarding. Nowadays people expect to have four or five careers in a working life, so unless you are one of the lucky people who knows exactly what you want to do from the age of 10, then be flexible and develop a range of skills.

My ambitions for the future: Ensure Exeter College continues to be successful in developing outstanding relations with employers and schools and to serve this fantastic community.