How long how you been at Martek Lifecare?

I joined in February and saw on LinkedIn about the company, so I emailed Martek and I was interviewed in January and joined in February .

What division do you work in?

I work in sales and am the Regional Sales Manager for Martek Lifecare.

Have you previously worked in sales or is it a new role?

I’ve been in sales for 40 years in various capacities, previously it was selling medicines to pharmaceutical companies and this year I’ve been selling defibs, which is a huge passion of mine, I would like to see a defib on every street corner and inside every public building as they save lives. When somebody is in cardiac arrest, there is such a short window to be able to get them back and we need to act as quickly as possible. I have witnessed somebody go into cardiac arrest, get shocked with the defib and then 90 seconds later, they’re back with us again.

It’s almost important to me as I was also resuscitated as a 6-week-old baby! This job is definitely something I am passionate about and I’ve had a very encouraging start.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

I have a selection of customers I look after and develop an increase in sales as well as looking for new customers who we can sell to if they need defibs as well as answering any queries new or existing customers may have about any products we sell.

How have you found the role to be, working from home?

I have worked from home for many decades now, one company I worked for in my 30’s, in all my time working there, I never actually visited the premises and there have been other companies in the past that have been similar where it’s been 4 or 5 years and I haven’t actually visited the office.

So this has been pretty normal for you then?

Yeah, it is a normal!

Do you look forward to going back to the office at all?

I want to meet everybody. I have popped into the office to pick up some defibs and by the end of June I intend to come in and meet everyone properly, face-to-face! When I popped in two weeks ago, it was lovely to spend time physically with my colleagues and it lifted my spirits. It’s motivating.

What sort of things do you get up to outside of the office?

I volunteer quite a lot in several things. In pre-COVID times, I volunteer as the Events Manger for the Baildon Carnival which is usually the second weekend in July and we start planning in the previous September. We have live bands playing, the WI  (Women’s Institute) have afternoon tea tents, lots of stalls, bouncy castles and fairs as well as a run up to the top of Baildon Hill and back, so it’s a lot of organizing but it is brilliant.

I am also part of the largest amateur sub-aqua organization and I’m the diving officer and instructor. At least one weekend a month, I am off diving and our weekly club nights have just started back again, every Wednesday. It was great to catch up and get back to diving again, I was also diving up in Anglesea this weekend.

Then, I am also an CFR (Community First Responder) for which I go on call and you don’t know how or when, something may happen. I do 7-9pm shifts most evening which usually, I will get a call I need to respond to, you just don’t know, sometimes I’ll get a call, sometimes I won’t. There’s been times on a weekend where my wife doesn’t see me, it’s so busy. These are quite few and far between.

We are there for people with life threatening conditions and if someone is in cardiac arrest, minutes do count, and it is imperative that someone gets there. Within the community, you can get there very, very quickly. There have been times when I have been driving through town and get a call in which has been on the street I am on or even helping with my own neighbor.

I enjoy it very much and started the scheme 9 years ago. We now have two kit bags and have even seen some people join the ambulance service by volunteering with us.

Is the volunteering work as a CFR what drew you to Martek Lifecare, as we specialise in defibs?

Yes, I read an article in a Scuba Diving magazine about CFR and thought to myself, “I can do that!” I have good first aid skills and from these things, I got a very good understanding for defibs. When I saw an opportunity I thought “yes I want to work for these people.”

I know the kit and am particularly impressed with the Lifeline View kit which has the video on it to allow people who speak different languages to have something to follow along to, it is universal which is so useful or if you’re in a noisy environment it can help. It can seem like a very daunting task but the person who has the defib in their hand needs to act.

What would you say to anyone who is thinking of joining Martek Lifecare?

I would say do it. It’s a great company, everyone is so nice to get on with and is so approachable. It will be lovely when we get back into the office and start doing sociable things together again. We are all sociable people and want to spend time in a positive environment with friendly people and this is the place to do it.

What do you see for Martek Lifecare in the future?

I think the company will be exceedingly successful. Our team is very passionate about our work and the cause. I think it will just grow and grow and grow.

Compared to 5 years ago, you can see that there are a lot more defibs out there which is incredible because I think having a defib is just as essential as having a fire extinguisher on the premises.