What's your nickname? Claire Bear. Because it rhymes. 

What was the first music single you bought? Borderline by Madonna. 

What did you want to be when you were a kid? I wanted to be Wonderwoman. I liked her costume and how she roped in all the bad boys. 

What's your favourite book and why? I'm a big fan of Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle because it has an amazingly creative and dream-like quality. 

What's your favourite movie and why? City of God, because it's real and an incredible story. 

What was your worst holiday and why? Getting caught in Thailand during the worst of the SARS and bird flu scares and having to spend half a day of my four-day holiday going through quarantine. 

If you could pick a celebrity to join your staff who would it be and why? Gordon Ramsay, because I think he might have some interesting ideas on where to take a food company. Plus, I'd like to see what he'd cook with General Mills' UK brands - Old El Paso, Betty Crocker, Häagen-Dazs, Jus-Rol and Green Giant.(A sweetcorn and ice-cream fajita? - Ed) 

Who would you most like to sit next to on a plane? Sacha Baron Cohen because he'd be a good laugh. Or the CEO of the global General Mills business, Ken Powell. What would the head of the world's sixth-largest food manufacturing company talk about? Maybe I could get a promotion! 

What would you request as your final meal? A truckload of really fresh sea urchin sushi and a bottle of nice sake. (Not a Betty Crocker carrot cake? - Ed) 

What luxury would you have on your desert island? A freezer full of vanilla Häagen-Dazs and a fishing pole. 

If you could star in a television programme, what would it be and why? Exploring weird and wonderful foods all over the world. General Mills UK has a reputation for bringing food to life and is a multi-award-winning employer, so who knows, maybe they'll sponsor me to do that! (After this interview, it's a sure thing! - Ed) 

If you could be invisible for the day, what would you do? Stow away on a train to Cornwall and sit by the sea.

Topics