Penny Speed meets... Simon Cooter, commercial lines director, Covéa Insurance

What was your first ever job — and were you any good at it?
Not a job as such, but I studied medicine at university. I clearly wasn’t very good at it!

If an MP3 player could only hold three tunes, what would you select for the ultimate soundtrack to your life?
My favourite song changes every week but I still know all the words to Down in the Tube Station at Midnight by The Jam. Right now, I love Four Simple Words by Frank Turner, and Thunder Road – or pretty much anything pre-1984 – by Bruce Springsteen

My colleagues won’t know this about me but...
I was the fastest cross-country runner in the county when I was 13. Unfortunately the county was Rutland, the smallest county in the country

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
You’ve got one mouth and two ears, use them in those proportions. Ironically, the person who told me that didn’t practice what he preached. I’m not sure I do either, but I do try

Favourite book of all time?
Impossible to choose because I read a lot. I loved Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby because it summed up perfectly the ups and downs of being an Arsenal fan, or any football fan for that matter

If you could be Prime Minister for the day, what change would you instigate and why?
I would ban all small cases with wheels, and the people attached to them, from railway stations. It would be one of a range of measures to make travel less annoying

My top tip for climbing the insurance career ladder is...
Don’t worry about climbing the ladder. Get the job done and see what happens

My last supper would comprise...
The best wine I could lay my hands on and some food

Who has been the most influential person in your life?
In a business sense, probably Peter Burrows (former Brit CEO). I learnt a lot from him, particularly the importance of doing the right thing and in the right way

When I’m not working I like to...
Be at home and outside. Running, walking the dogs, playing tennis with the kids, gardening... I’m also getting to the age where it is a real treat when all the kids are at home and we spend an evening together eating, drinking and talking

Last film you saw?
We’ve just finished watching all five series of Friday Night Lights, probably the best family drama ever

Name your five ideal dinner party guests (dead or alive) noting what they bring to the party
David Bowie to sing; Heston Blumenthal to cook; Rhod Gilbert to tell jokes, Ian Wright to talk about Arsenal; and Thierry Henry to talk about Arsenal too

What do you say when strangers at a social gathering ask what you do for a living? 
Nobody cares, I talk about football and other life and death subjects, just like most men. If pushed I would say I was in a band. Pretty much every band from the 1980s has reformed so it would be credible

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?
Wembley in 1971 to see Arsenal win their first double

Finish this sentence: Insurance is a great industry to work in because...
Anyone who is determined and works hard can be successful. We are genuinely a force for good in the wider economy – and it’s also a lot more fun than
people think

Would you like to be probed by Penny on one of her speed meets? Get in touch via Stephanie Denton.

This article was published in the 14 November 2013 edition of Post magazine