Don't quote me

Chris Connell, associate director in the field team.

How long have you worked at NICE?

13 years! NICE has been good to me.

What do you like most about your role?

This is going to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech but it’s working with a team of fantastic people! On the downside, because we work and live in all 4 corners of the country, we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like.

What 3 words would you use to describe your job?

Varied, demanding and satisfying.

What's the best thing about working from home?

I get to travel to different parts of the country, working with the people who use our guidance. What NICE does makes a real difference and it’s great to see.

What was your first job?

I worked in a cake factory in Stoke-on-Trent that made ‘exceedingly good cakes’. I was very young and worked with heavy machinery for up to 14 hours a day making the dough. Health and safety (rightly) wouldn’t allow it now but I loved that job. The smell of the baking cakes was glorious. The people I worked with were quite tough characters but they took me under their wing and I’ve never forgotten that.

Plate full of Mr Kipling's french fancies in yellow, pink and brown.

Penarth Pier holds fond memories for Chris.

Teleportation would make Chris's work-life so much easier.

Front cover of the book A Gentleman in Moscow.

Chris recommends A Gentleman in Moscow as an uplifting, easy read.

Where is your happy place?

Penarth Pier just outside Cardiff. We’ve only been there twice but it means a lot to my wife and I.

Penarth Pier holds fond memories for Chris.

What talent would you most like to have?

That’s easy - teleportation! With all the travelling I do, it would make my working life so much easier. Failing that, neat handwriting.

Teleportation would make Chris's work-life so much easier.

What book would you recommend?

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It’s the story of an aristocrat in post-Tsarist Russia, sentenced by the Bolsheviks to indefinite house arrest in a hotel. It sounds obscure but actually, it’s an uplifting and optimistic tale. And it’s an easy read!

Chris recommends A Gentleman in Moscow as an uplifting, easy read.

What would be the first thing you'd do if you won the lottery?

Check with my wife that we had actually won!

If you could be a superhero for the day, who would you be and why?

It would have to be Captain Scarlet. My chosen superhero is very old so you may not have heard of him. As a small boy, I was what you’d now call a superfan. However, I was often too scared to watch the actual programme! Check out the opening credits online, which are still very cool, and you’ll see what I mean. As for his enemies: the Mysterons - just terrifying!

Justine Karpusheff, guideline commissioning manager in the commissioning team.

How long have you worked at NICE?

5 years, but this is actually my second time at NICE. I worked at NICE for a few years previously. I left and then came back.

What do you like most about your role?

Working with our guideline committees. We can be a bit removed from the real world at NICE but the committees keep me informed of what is happening in health and social care. It keeps the job challenging and interesting.

What 3 words would you use to describe your job?

Certainly never dull.

What's the best part of working in Manchester?

It’s a relaxed atmosphere and there’s usually biscuits and cakes on offer.

What was your first job?

My first job was shelling eggs in a sandwich shop in Piccadilly Plaza. It was located where City Tower reception is now. I was paid daily, cash in hand. My first salaried job was teaching English as a foreign language in Spain.

Where is your happy place?

Any mountain top.

For Justine, a mountain top is a great place to be.

What talent would you most like to have?

A photographic memory. It would stop me having to write everything down all the time.

What book would you recommend to others?

Just because it’s the easiest to remember, the last book I read was East West Street by Philippe Sands. It’s a family memoir, but it traces the story of the legal teams whose actions sowed the seeds for human rights law at the Nuremberg trials. It’s a lot more interesting and enjoyable than it sounds. Honestly!

The last book Justine read was East West Street by Philippe Sands.

What would be the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?

The other week, I read a news story about a builder who won the lottery. He said it was too much money for him and he was going to do good with it. I liked that. I like to think I would give it straight to charity but I think I would probably end up frittering it all away on clothes and parties.