Chris Milton is a seasoned business professional with a wealth of experience in executive coaching and sales leadership. As the owner of Christopher Milton Executive Coaching Ltd, Chris brings a unique blend of expertise honed through his previous role as Sales Director at Thatchers. His journey is marked by a commitment to excellence and a passion for empowering individuals and organisations to reach their full potential.
I briefly met him at the Taste of the West Awards and really looked forward to catching up with him for our ‘Getting to Know’ feature. I was not disappointed and I hope you will enjoy the interview as much as I did chatting to him.
What does your Monday morning routine look like?
Regardless of the fullness of my day, it always starts with a cup of coffee!
When I was still working at Thatchers, Monday’s mornings were quite prescriptive – meetings with directors, with operational and senior managers – I’m not going to say predictable, because when you work in food & drink it’s never predictable and always fun. There was a rhythm to the week that started with Monday that I don’t have anymore.
When you’re semi-retired/self-employed, one day can take any number of forms – a bit of ‘freewheeling’. “What’s this Monday going to bring?”. It’s an interesting state of mind and although it’s nice it’s also a hard adjustment to make. Not having the same purpose is hard to come to terms with and I think it is very important to continue to keep yourself busy – from a physical as well as a mental health point of view.
What’s your all-time favourite movie, and why?
I didn’t have to think too much about this! It’s ‘The Right Stuff’. It’s based on the book by Tom Wolfe and it’s about the selection of the very first 7 astronauts in the NASA space program. It covers fairly recent political history with the space race which interests me anyway. It’s about human courage, endeavour, what you’re made of, triumph over adversity, commitment. It’s about all of the things that characterise how I went about my career. I’ve watched it more times than…my wife’s watched ‘Love Actually’!
If you could visit any place in the world right now, where would you go?
That’s easy. Corsica! It’s the Cornwall of France – they have a culture and a way of being and a language all their own, part French and part Italian. The people are unbelievably friendly – particularly if you make an effort with the language. It has some of the most wonderful beaches I’ve even been on in the Mediterranean. The food is outstanding and it’s not a destination that a lot of people think of going to for their holidays. The northern part of the island, particularly around San Florent Bay produces some of the most wonderful rosé wine I have ever tasted!
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
There’s one I’ve done as karaoke before – very badly mind you, because singing is not one of my hidden talents. It’s ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake!
What’s your favourite way to unwind and de-stress?
I love spending time with friends and having great food and great drink. I love being creative and cooking a good meal for them, put on some good music. Nothing fancy like Masterchef, but something simple like a Sunday Roast done well, with maybe a few nibbles before and a nice dessert for after… We have a wonderful social life with some great friends! My wife says I do the ‘show’ cooking while she does the day-to-day that keeps us going.
Cats or dogs, or do you prefer another type of pet – and why?
Dogs, dogs, dogs… Not that I’ve got one but I do enjoy long walks in the countryside. They’re a little bit more friendly. They interact with you a bit more. I know cats will come and sit on you, but it’s when they can be bothered to. They have this attitude, like it’s a privilege that they’re spending time with you. Dogs are completely different.
Share a quote or motto that inspires you or by which you live your life.
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”.
I love reading. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks in the car, because much of what’s on the radio irritates me, is full of adverts and isn’t feeding my brain. Generally the novels I’ll listen to in the car are fairly trashy, but the books I read at home are more serious stuff. I like history – political history, geographical history… At the moment I’m reading Simon Heffer’s fourth volume in a series of books that he’s written. It’s called ‘Sing as we Go’ and covers the period between 1919 and 1945 in Britain and talks about the changes that were going on socio-politically. It feeds the brain!
What job is the favourite you’ve ever had and what made it so special?
It was Thatchers! What made it so special is that it was a family business that wanted to include you if you wanted to be part of it. It wasn’t exclusive in any way. I had the opportunity to take the 30 years of experience I had at the point and drop it into growing the business for Martin. Writing the strategy, making it work, and the sheer thrill of taking that business from 10 million litres to over 100 million litres in a specified period.
Every day was a buzz, but that was just the output of it. It was the people I worked with – it was a real team. I miss the people. There are some fantastically long-serving people there. It’s always good to talk to Martin Thatcher. He’s a great guy and I get on very well with him and we still keep in touch! Easily the best job I ever had other than the first job I ever had growing up in Dawlish. I used to work on the sea front for a family friend selling bucket-and-spade stuff. As a 14/15 year old I was paid good money for wearing shorts in the sun and practicing lines with my boss Alan, who was a semi-professional thespian!
If you were to write a book, what genre would it be?
Crime fiction.
What hobbies or interests do you have that would surprise us?
I think I touched on pretty much everything that I really enjoy doing. I used to referee football to quite a high standard about 20 years ago. I was on the Football Conference, which is the one below the football leagues and I was an assistant referee on the Premiership Reserve and the Football League Reserve – I did about 900 games in my time, but it took me about 6 years before I was able to sit and watch a game after I quit refereeing!
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
Learning to fly! A little Cesna. I got given the gift of a 2 hour flying lesson and it went from there. I didn’t do the full 40 hours you need to qualify for a pilot’s licence but I did about 20 odd hours of flying and learned how to navigate. It isn’t as frightening as you might think it is, apart from when the pilot who’s instructing you says: “You’ll be cutting the engine at 10,000 feet and restart when you drop!”
What is your favourite food/drink product on the market right now and why?
The new Thatchers Cider Barn 458. I just had a case delivered to me for a favour I did. It’s really good with cheese. It’s big, it’s punchy and it’s got a great mouth feel.
What is your go-to pleasure snack or comfort food?
Cheese, cheese – love cheese. In all its forms. Soft, hard, French, Italian, British – doesn’t matter which cheese. I’m cheese themed! I suspect my lunch will involve some cheese today…
Favourite colour
Blue – it’s calming.
What inspires you?
People – the amazing achievements by sportsman, by business people, people in the care industry, artists… people in general.
I could probably have completed another whole questionnaire with all the good nuggets I received from Chris during our chat but for now I look forward to seeing him again soon.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Chris can contact him on his LinkedIn Profile.
