Richard Whittaker
Commercial Director
It's a dog's life being Commercial Director of Samarind. Outside the office, at any rate.
Richard Whittaker was made Samarind's Commercial Director eight years ago. His job is to run those aspects of the company that aren't technical: general office management, human resources, finance and so on.
Married to Yvonne for 33 years, Richard has three grown-up children: Claire, Mark and Ciara. The couple also have a dog, George. And thereby hangs a tale. When he was a puppy, they took George, a cocker spaniel, for obedience training, and here they learnt about Dog Agility shows - basically, show-jumping for dogs.
"It seemed like it might be fun, so we had a go," said Richard. "And we're still giving it a go three years on. Once the kids had moved out, Yvonne and I had time to devote to a new hobby and we now take George to Dog Agility shows all over England and Wales."
George is expected to tackle the canine equivalent of an obstacle course, which includes jumps, A frame, See Saw, tunnels and 'weaves', in which he has to slalom his way past a series of posts.
"My job is to steer him, which doesn't necessarily get any easier even after 30 shows, because the better you get at this the more difficult the courses get," explained Richard.
Not only does George have to successfully negotiate the course - each one of which is designed differently - he has to do it as fast as possible.
"Speed as well as agility are what the judges are looking for: runs are timed to a 1000th of a second. It helps keep me fit and George thoroughly enjoys it," says Richard.
George not only has fun - he often thoroughly licks the opposition. There can be as many as a 1,000 dogs at a show, so it's highly impressive that the cocky spaniel has managed to win about a dozen first-placed cups and dozens more rosettes (the latter forming a colourful display in front of Richard's desk).
Aside from his family, Richard's other big enthusiasm outside work is Liverpool FC, whom he has supported since he was a boy - a boy living in South-East London.
"I was the only supporter of Liverpool that I knew; all my mates supported the London clubs like Spurs or West Ham," said Richard. "It started with the 1965 FA Cup, Leeds v Liverpool. We'd got our first television the year before so it was a big deal for my dad and me. He asked me which team I'd like to support and for no particular reason I chose Liverpool - and they won! From that moment I was hooked."
At the age of 15 Richard's family moved up to Wrexham, one advantage of which was that for the first time he was able to attend Liverpool matches on their home turf.
"I still go to as many games as I can," he said. "I prefer it, I think, to the old days - the grounds and stands are so much better, for one thing, and the standard of play is better, too."
Another thing Richard has seen improve over the years is the role of IT in business.
"When I started with Samarind 15 years ago computers were still seen as something of a luxury for smaller companies," he says. "Now they are an essential business tool. IT has become a utility, as necessary as heating and lighting.
"I've watched the market grow stronger and stronger over the past 15 years and it's been great watching the company grow with it thanks to the exceptional expertise we have on board."