Toys for the boys

Who'd have thought a Cornflake factory would spur on this boss?

David Thomas, 60, joined Whitbread in 1984 as a regional director of Whitbread Inns.

He became a director in 1991 and later chief executive of Whitbread PLC in June 1997.

After almost 20 years at the group - whose brands include Marriott Hotels, David Lloyd Leisure and Costa Coffee - Mr Thomas is due to retire in June this year.

What was your first car?

My first car was a Mini 850. I was living in Manchester and really had my eye on the Mini Cooper but just couldn't afford it at the time, despite my parents giving me rent-free accommodation.

I think it was around the time that the Italian Job came out, so that was probably my inspiration.

What was your first job - and how much were you paid?

My first job was as a shift-worker on the production line for Kellogg's, putting plastic submarines into Cornflakes boxes.

It was pretty boring work, but it gave me some money to play with. I was paid the princely sum of £15 per week. That was good wages in those days, especially for a university student.

It is a long way from the leisure industry, but the experience did spark my interest in brands and marketing.

What type of house did you first own?

My first house was what they called a linked detached house.

It was in Cheadle Hulme, in Cheshire and was built by Wimpey.

It cost me £4,500. I was working in central Manchester at the time - 1969 - and my future wife and I needed somewhere to live after we got married.

We chose to move out into the commuter belt around Manchester and this was our first home.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

Without a doubt it's my family. They are the people for whom I do everything.

Even if at times others doubted the direction I was going in, or if I doubted myself, they have always been there. So everything that I do is inspired by them.

What's the best bit of business advice you've had?

To love what you do and feel that it matters. I can't actually remember who said it, but in my late 30s I found myself working in a job which I really wasn't enjoying.

I was unenthusiastic and as a consequence, my performance was sub-standard and so the company and I parted ways.

In the course of searching for a new job, someone said to me that you should always love what you do and feel that it matters.

It became one of my core criteria for the new job and I resolved to never again get into that kind of a dead end situation.

What was the proudest moment of your career?

That's hard to say. I was very proud when I was appointed chief executive of Whitbread, but I was also very proud of being awarded a CBE for services to catering and leisure industry and the community.

I had aspired to be chief executive, so it was rewarding to finally reach that goal.

In contrast, the CBE was not something I expected but it too made me very proud.

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Whitbread, the leisure business, manages the UK's leading brands in hotels, restaurants and racquets, health and fitness clubs.

Its 65,000 employees serve millions of customers each month at more than 1,700 locations across the UK.

In 2002/2003, Whitbread generated pre-tax profits of £214m on sales of almost £1.8bn.

Founded in 1742, Whitbread is one of the oldest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.