Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Alex Smith - Managing Director of Alara


How old are you?
54

What’s your occupation and who do you work for?
MD of Alara and working for our stakeholders

How long have been doing this?
32 years

What is it about your job that makes it ethical?
The opportunity to develop a company with sustainability at its heart.

What’s the best bit about your job?
Working in the Permaculture Forest Garden around the back of the factory

What have the last 12 months been like for you?
Very exciting

What were you doing before this?
Living totally, without using money

What was your very first full-time job?
Picking Strawberries

What advice would you give to someone wishing to embark on the same sort of work as you?
If possible learn from other peoples mistakes.

Have you got any plans for the next 12 months you’d like to share with us?
Spend more time on company development

What do you do to relax?
Pay attention to the moment.

Who do you live with?
My wife Katrina and 4 year old daughter, Daria.

Whereabouts do you live?
Islington, London

If you were Prime Minister, what’s the very first thing you would do?
Implement “Contract and Converge “ for the UK

As cheap and easily available oil is expected to run out in the next couple of decades, what do you think will be the predominant form of transport in 2027?
Peak oil will happen before 2027 and bicycle will be the predominant form of transport

Have you got any guilty carbon secrets?
Cheese

What have you done that you were most proud of?
Bringing up such a beautiful daughter and starting Alara with no money at all.

What single issue are you most concerned about in the world at large?
1) Peak Oil 2) Climate Change

Which person in the public eye do you most admire and why?
Peter Melchett, Policy Director at the Soil Association, who I respect for being a consummate political activist.
What’s your website address?
www.alara.co.uk

What are your three favourite other websites of the moment?
www.peakoil.com
www.soilassociation.org
www.wikipedia.org

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