Hi,
Not that this thread is about backgrounds but thought i'd throw it in there as alongside the work we do, we do appear to have a number of non-UK nationals on here which is just as as interesting to know about.
I'm a 30 year old Dutchman ('shhhmokin' de pancake'
) who's lived on-and-off in the UK for the last 18 years. Born in Indonesia in 1981 i had my teen years in the '90s lol. Lived in Holland, Belgium, UK (obviously), Australia and worked in Shanghai for a year in 2004. By the time i was 25 I had moved about 20 different times and looked forward to staying in 1 place for a bit. I've been in London now since 2006 and although it's rubbish from a 'car space' perspective, I love this city - it's alive and one of the most interesting capital cities in the world in my view...my favourite if you will.
All in all, i love the UK and have made it my home. The culture, the people (especially you funny lot 'oooop nooorf') are all brilliant. This may seem strange, but for a person coming from possibly the 'flattest' country in the world, the rolling hills of britain are something that put a smile on my face each time I take a road trip.
I've always loved cars...similar to Amar I would be at car shows from a very young age and would ask my dad (who has never had a particular interest in cars) to let me go into dealerships so i could take the car brochures, to then cut out the cars and stick them on my bedroom wall. As i said, i was a teen of the 90s and I knew the D2 was a car i was going to have to own 1 day. I'm now on my 2nd 8 and have been driving them for the last 5 years.
I digress...what do i do? Well, i'm a marketer with a weakness for big brands. In the past these have included
McDonalds (flippin burgers...I got 1 star, oh yeah!), Surrey
Oxfam (charity work whilst at school), Surrey
Avis (best uni job ever delivering, collecting and cleaning cars), Bristol
Motorola (financial analyst intern), Swindon
Coca-Cola (marketing intern), Shanghai
Castrol (marketing analyst - contractor), Swindon
Yahoo! (marketing manager), London
I have a specialism for digital marketing and - like Amar - had a fondness of going back into a business more focussed around automotive. 18 months ago, i got offered a job with Shell to set up their digital marketing team for the Lubricants business. We look after everything from the website (shameless plug for our
consumer lubricants and
industrial lubricants websites, oil selector tools like
Shell LubeMatch, mobile (we're getting there
) as well as all marketing campaigns across all brands that go across all markets). I love this job despite the crazy hours working with Asia in the mornings and the US in the evenings - partnering with some of the most amazing automotive brands like Ferrari and Ducati is a perk few other companies can give.
I live 15 mins by motorcycle from work which is right next to the London Eye (which uses Shell lubricants to keep it turning
) - it's the building in the middle of the picture below with the tower and have a view of the city and the Thames that's just incredible.
Before anyone asks, do i get free fuel, the answer is a very unfortunate 'no'
I could get a company car but forego it when I realise i would have to travel in a lesser motor than the 8!
I believe someone mentioned something about 'sharing an armrest' recently which i believe summed it up well!
Thanks,
Oli
PS - my last shameless plug for my colleagues in other parts of the business
Mobile App - features include station locator, route planner, motoring reminders (tax, insurance, service, mot) and your loyalty points balace (if you have a Shell Driver's Club card - or VPower Club card for those that truly love their vehicles
)
