My parents moved to the UK in the 60s, my mother from Uganda and my father from India. Soon after that, my uncle came to join us. He was kind of one of my idols and mentors growing up. He was a Chief Buyer at a supermarket chain so he used to travel all over the world, and he would always bring back gifts from wherever he’d been. That was really exciting because at the time, we couldn’t afford a lot and travel wasn’t as easy and cheap as it is today.
After they left Uganda, all of my mum’s brothers went to Oxford University, so my uncle was educated there and then he got a job in the buying side of a produce company. When I first started in sales, I sat with him and we did some role plays because I didn’t know how to sell to anyone, I didn’t have a clue. Now I’m a Global Account Director. I probably shouldn’t say this, but he’s my favourite uncle.
Dharmesh Vashi | Global Account Director | London
