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15 questions with… Robert Payne

Robert is the Associate Director at Alpadis Group’s Hong Kong office. Robert’s main roles are to provide trust services including due diligence, trust structure set-up and management and liaison with intermediaries. In this week’s Q&A he talks workplace productivity, scuba diving with sharks and why he’d love to be able to teleport!

1. In a short paragraph, please describe what you do at Alpadis Group.

I am the Associate Director at Alpadis Trust (HK) Limited, looking after clients brought across from Louvre HK and managing the insurance relationships.

2. Briefly describe a typical working day.

Generally, a lot of signing but also frequent meetings with insurance carriers, brokers and other intermediaries on an ad hoc basis. I am also involved in client work at various levels.

3. What is your favourite thing about your career?

The fact that it has brought me from a small island, Guernsey, to a thriving city, Hong Kong.

4. Do you have any productivity tips at work?

A healthy lifestyle outside of work, I am getting back into a routine of going to the gym to help with this.

5. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?

The football team I follow has a motto ‘side before self, every time’. This is true of any team.

6. If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have?

The ability to teleport as the older I get the worse I am at flying.

7. Who was your favourite teacher? Why?

As it has been 20 years since I left school I wouldn’t be able to remember even if I had one.

8. What would you do if you were invisible for a day?

Probably freak out!

9. Give us three reasons to be optimistic about the future.

A very topical question with what is happening around the world right now. There are certainly a few reasons to be optimistic including Blockchain technology which has the potential to bring transparency to finance and other areas, there is much more environmental awareness amongst ordinary people, and thirdly there are always opportunities waiting around the corner.

10. If you could time travel, where would you go?

As far into the future as possible to see if other intelligent lifeforms were ever found in the universe.

11. If you could share a meal with any 3 individuals, living or dead, who would they be?

Lucas Radebe, Winston Churchill and any of the men who have walked on the Moon.

12. What do you think is the greatest invention of all time?

Obvious answers here but firstly the Wheel and then the Jet Engine, travel brings the world closer together.

13. Would you rather win an Olympic medal, an Academy Award or the Nobel Peace prize?

Nobel Peace Prize as it means others would likely have benefited from my actions rather than just myself.

14. Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest?

Probably my sight as I have never had the need for glasses despite working behind a monitor for 19 years.

15. What’s the most courageous/daring thing you’ve ever done?

Scuba diving with sharks in Fiji.