Swindon Business Lives: Simon Jackson

In this edition of 'Swindon Lives', we chat to Simon Jackson - Chief Exec of inSwindon BID Company, the town centre management company for Swindon, and our official website sponsors.

1. Where is home and why?
Faringdon in Oxfordshire, we moved there the day before my son was born as we thought it would be a good place to raise the children, it is a nice community with great schools. I have also lived in Oxford, Portsmouth, Bath and Bristol.

2. What inspired you to set up your business here?
I took over at inSwindon BID in 2009; I saw the role as an opportunity to effect positive change and to make things happen in the town centre.

3. What advice would you give anyone looking to do the same?
Swindon is a great place to do business, it has excellent transport links and the business community is very active in influencing its own future. In terms of advice it would be that there are risks involved in any start up business the key is to manage them and have the strength to realise your mistakes and learn from them and also to constantly adapt to market changes.

4. What do you think attracts business people to Swindon?
The central location and the transport links are big factors but it also has the levels of accommodation and workforce to make both relocation and business start up credible options.

5. How do you like to spend your time off?
My children take up a lot of my time between the various clubs and out of school things they are involved in, so I am taxi number one mostly but I am a keen clay pigeon shooter and a passionate Arsenal fan.

6. Your phone book must be full of business contacts, but who is the most famous person in there?
I’m not sure about famous but I have a lot of very influential business people in there, I do have contact details for the various VIPs that have worked with us on some of our events from high ranking military personnel to well known TV personalities.

7. Your 2pm meeting has been cancelled, meaning you now have a two-hour lunch break. What do you do?
I rarely take a lunch break so I would probably try and get another meeting in or spend some time with my team; preferably over coffee I drink a lot of coffee.

8. Describe Swindon in three words...
Primed for success.

9. What has been your biggest achievement to date?
I have so many things that I’m proud of from my military career to securing a second term for the BID Company, most recently I have been elected to sit on the British BIDs Advisory Board which has a great deal of influence in my industry so both personally for my own career development and professionally in raising the profile of Swindon I am proud of that.

10. You've got 20 words to surprise us with. Go...
Its over 20 words but “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change... courage to change the things that I can, and wisdom to know the difference.