Logan Wilson
Welcome back to another Meet the Team segment. For this segment, we chatted to Nick Burton, Director in Pemba’s Accelerate team.
If you could have dinner with any three people in the world (past or present), who would they be and why?
Brian Cox (the physicist – to wow us with the wonders of modern science and the universe), Nelson Mandela (to be inspired by his life experiences) and my mum, who would be annoyed that I brought her back from the dead and didn’t ask for John Lennon instead. At least Brian and Nelson would be well-fed.
What are three things that you can’t live without?
On most days, but not all, my three children.
If you could instantly master one skill, what would it be and why?
The harmonica. I remember being on a ferry in Greece about 20 years old, when a leathery old Greek man busted out Piano Man. I’ve never seen a group of rowdy tourists more enraptured, and Billy Joel has haunted my Spotify playlists ever since.
What’s something you do to reset or recharge when life gets busy?
I love to surf – nothing better than bobbing about above Tamarama’s friendly grey nurse sharks.
If you could start your own business tomorrow, what would it be?
I’m a basketball tragic, so if someone would give me an expansion franchise in the NBA, I’d be there in a heartbeat. The Seattle Supersonics were my favourite team as a child, so I’d bring them back to the Pacific Northwest. Side note, for anyone interested in a bit of corporate thievery – watch the documentary ‘Sonicsgate’, which tells the story of the demise of the Sonics and the move of the team to Oklahoma City.
What’s a piece of advice you’ve received that really stuck with you?
Our dad always drilled us – “do it now”. It was his way of pushing us to not procrastinate, and I’ve only taken 39 years to get around to listening…
Book recommendation:
Non-fiction: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. I love behavioural economics, and Dan has an approachable and humorous way of describing how people’s irrationality flies in the face of traditional economic theory.
Fiction: I loved reading the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini when it came out in 2003. The vivid world of those boys in Afghanistan was a great way of humanising an otherwise demonised culture at the time.
