Meet… Carl Drake
Managing Director of Rise Furniture and Mobility
What does your position involve?
Everything from sourcing new suppliers to serving customers in the showroom or in their homes. I have been known to make a mean cup of coffee too…
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Changing people’s lives by making a difference with the products and services we offer.
One customer returned to the showroom one day to thank me, as he thought his days of walking up to shops with his wife were over. “My new rollator has made walking so much easier, I’ll be walking to the shops for years” he told me.
I’m flattered by the incredible reviews customers are posting online. It’s immensely satisfying when a new customer says we were recommended to come and see you.
What is one of your proudest moments in the industry?
Being the first and only mobility retailer ever to win National Retail Business of the Year. Because no other mobility company has managed it but to do so in our first-year trading is unprecedented.
What’s the biggest change you have seen in the industry?
It has to be the Care in the Community Act. Allowing people to take control of their finances and social care is enabling them to maintain their independence and stay in their homes longer.
If you could bring one new innovation to the market, what would it be?
Some kind of affordable wearable technology that continually monitored your health. Visits to your GP or medical professional would still be necessary but they could download the information to diagnose early onset dementia, cancers and other conditions without invasive biopsies and reduce waiting lists.
What are your interests outside of work?
Spending quality time relaxing with my wife, dog and cat.
We’ve an old Bothy, only accessible by 4×4 at low tide by the side of a remote Scottish loch. With no television or mobile phone signal it’s a great place to relax.
I’m also a keen England Rugby fan so watching the Six nations is the highlight of my year.
If you had to do any other job in the world, what would it be?
I would have liked to have been signed by a world rally team. I drove semi-professionally for three seasons but the offer never came.
I qualified in Furniture design and have spent a lot of time travelling and working all over the world; America, Europe, Southern Asia and the Far East.
But if I had my time again, I probably would have studied law and become a Barrister or solicitor.
Quick-fire questions
Describe yourself in three words?
Tenacious, dependable, competitive
What’s your favourite song?
I don’t have one. There have been many favourites; from Northern Soul all-nighters at Wigan Casino, to Genesis, Del Amitri, Crowded House to Tech House music in Ibiza’s Super clubs.
What was the last movie you watched?
Mission Impossible Fallout. A great movie but ripped off scenes from all four Daniel Craig Bond films and a bit of Jason Bourne thrown in for good measure. Daniel Craig is the best Bond, so looking forward to seeing how he signs off in Bond 25.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
To be invisible. There’s no end of possibilities I would get up to.
Favourite place in the world?
I’ve already mentioned the Scottish Highlands so Sydney, Australia.