Name: Charles Rolls
Age: 53
Company: Fever-Tree. I set up the company at the end of 2004 with Tim Warrillow.
Turnover: £12m
First job: The first UK McDonald’s in its first month on High Street Kensington.
Dream job: Rohit Jaggi’s job on the FT, test flying and writing about airoplanes
Car: Prefer bikes Ducati and BMW
Economy, business or first class: Economy mostly except long-haul overnighters then business
Most extravagant purchase: Racing yacht
Most-played song on your iPod: “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas
Best business book: Daniel Yergin’s history of oil
Worst business moment: Re-launching Plymouth Gin in the US. The corks (seemed like a good idea at the time) had coloured the gin. Looked like urine but fortunately no-one in the US knew what Plymouth Gin was supposed to look anyway after a 30-year absence.
Proudest business moment: Signing what became a seminal distribution deal for Plymouth Gin with Seagram in 1999.
Your business mentor: I didn’t know I had to have one
Next big thing: Kite surfing
