Name: Wanda Goldwag
Job title: Chair
Company: New Covent Garden Market Authority
What was your first job? Selling fruit from a small stall in the car park of a motorway service station, near Coventry.
What’s been your worst job interview? I was flown to Boston to meet a team of technical people who would report to me and realised immediately that they were complacent and not up to the job. They believed they were market-leading, but were later wiped off the face of the Earth by a competitive product. I had already turned down the job.
What was the first music single you bought? It was definitely The Beatles – I think it was Twist and Shout.
“I am proud to be able to act as an ambassador both for the market and for the incredible array of fresh produce and flowers our tenants source from all over the world”
How do you describe your job to your friends? I say I am the chair of Covent Garden Market Authority, managing the country’s largest fruit, vegetable and flower wholesale market for government department Defra.
What is the most rewarding part of your job? I am proud to be able to act as an ambassador both for the market and for the incredible array of fresh produce and flowers our tenants source from all over the world and sell to a diverse and wide-ranging customer base across London and the south east.
What is the least rewarding part? It probably won’t surprise anyone to read that what I find least rewarding is having to explain that the government has no money.
What is your motto in life? Be brave.
If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? I’m not really one for perks, I have to admit, but if there was one, it would be unlimited first-class air travel, as it makes such a difference when you are flying long distance. I’ve been very lucky in my life as I got to fly Concorde on a number of occasions.
Do you have any phobias? No, thankfully I’m not afflicted! But I have lived with arachnophobes and one person who inexplicably says they can smell mice when no one else can and is always right.
If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? I know I am far from being alone in wanting to change the destructive power dynamic that so often works against smaller producers, both in our own country and internationally.
What luxury would you have on a desert island? Toilet paper.
What animal most reflects your personality? A bear. I’ll let the people who meet me decide whether that means I’m cuddly or ferocious!
What’s your favourite film and why? It’s a close-run thing between Cabaret and The Godfather and in both cases I’m attracted to the excitement of the world being depicted.
What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? There have been many, but I’ve always taken the view that embarrassment is temporary. You should just keep trucking.
Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? David Attenborough. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him and was blown away by his sincerity, his ability to construct an argument and his passion for our planet.
What would your death row meal be? Mozzarella, avocado and tomato salad.
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