Head-to-head: Bear Gills v Bear Necessities

I read English at Oxford before beginning a career as a strategy consultant in London. After a spell as Project Manager, I left to set up various businesses, including raising $5m in funding as Development Director for www.military.com in San Francisco, building a £1m property portfolio in Notting Hill and the Alps and financing the first two albums by Eden James, an Australian singer-songwriter who has now won record deals with Sony and EMI and reached number one in Greece with his first single Cherub Feathers. In 1998, I had lunch with a friend of mine who had an apartment in the Alps and ended up renting the place for the whole season. That was probably the only real decision I’ve ever made in my life! After ‘retiring’ at the age of 29, I spent seven years skiing and playing golf in France, Belgium, America and Australia before returning to London to settle down and start a family. That hasn’t happened yet, but I’ve now decided to focus on ‘quality of life’. That means trying to maximise my enjoyment rather than my salary. As I love teaching, I spend a few hours a week as a private tutor in south-west London and on assignment in places as far afield as Hong Kong and Bodrum. In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis, writing, acting, photography, dancing, skiing and coaching golf. I still have all the same problems as everyone else, but at least I never get up in the morning wishing I didn’t have to go to work!