<B>A multi-skilled man</B>

Like other professionals, the chief electrical buying executive of Courts is very flexible. This flexibility that has allowed Brian to work in so many different fields is partly due to his various qualifications.

While Brian has enjoyed switching jobs and gaining wide-ranging experience along the way, he says his personality has remained the same: he has always been relaxed with a good sense of humour. “It is just that I try not to take things too seriously. I have always loved the jobs I have done and especially the challenges they each presented.”

Having completed his A-levels, he did an HND in Applied Biology, followed by a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing. Brian first joined the Courts chain of shops in England where he was purchasing director for electrical goods and was responsible for the setting up of a chain of in-house electrical stores. After two years he was posted to Courts Malaysia, again in charge of purchasing electrical goods.

Then, after a further two years, came the move to Courts Mauritius. Brian, who is now the chief electrical buying executive, has been in the country for six years – a long time in one place for a man constantly on the move and experienced in so many jobs in various disciplines.

Indeed, before he joined Courts, Brian was a technician in a science laboratory. But after just a year there, he was offered a job at the British Medical Research Council where he stayed for three years. He was involved in a team who were researching a drug that was related to the control of cancer. But he switched career again when he joined Rediffusion, a company involved in television manufacture and rental. Next on the agenda was travel with many countries in Europe as his destination.

Brian’s free time – what there is of it – is spent watching television, with British football and Formula One motor racing at the top of his list of screen favourites. However, since coming to Mauritius he has found another pastime – boating. Most weekends he can be found either using or repairing his boat. But he admits: “The problem is I spend more time repairing it than using it. But I enjoy doing it.”

Brian, who was born on November 1951 in Hampstead, London, married Kristina some 20 years ago. The couple have two sons, Tom and Henry, who are studying abroad. The Walkers live in Flic-en-Flac. “Kristina and I really enjoy life in Mauritius. We live in a nice environment near the beach, which is great. But what we appreciate the most here is the weather, which is really nice, especially when you compare it to English weather!”