The Heavenly Hotseat: Richard Orr, Head of Marketing at the Natural History Museum

1. Where and when were you happiest
When I read this, my first thought was “I bet they want a workplace type answer” but the first thing that came to my head was last month, sat on the beach in Cannes with my partner. She had a glass of rosé, and I had a beer. The sun was out and we were staring at the sea without a care in the world. The biggest decision we had to make was what to have for lunch. Cannes has a special place in my heart which is why I’ve been there almost every year for the last 45 years. My grandfather retired there and my sister lives there now and it’s where we went as a family every year for our holidays – so a happy place.
If you want a workplace answer – it would be back in 1996 when I joined HMV, the place of my first major rebrand. On pay day – I’d blow huge amounts of my salary in the “2 for £22” or “3 for £15” promos. Music was real and physical, not disposable. They were fun times!

2. What do you value most in other people?
I think it must be honesty. Sometimes it can be cruel when you hear something you don’t like but it’s so important to me not to be conned or lied to. I hate it when folk lie for personal gain or to get one over someone else. I think by being honest you should get the right result, even if means facing a difficult situation, but it helps me sleep at night if I know I have been true to myself and those around me. Also, I’m hopeless at lying. You can see through me, that’s why I’m probably rubbish at poker, I can’t pretend to have something I don’t!

3. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
My Dad once said to me “don’t be nasty to someone on your way up, you’ll very likely meet them on the way down”. I think that’s quite true and there are so many meanings in that. I always try to be friendly and polite to folks I meet. For example, if you arrive at a restaurant you say “hi, how are doing?” or “how’s your day?” to the host welcoming you – you are bound to get a better treatment than if you arrived with an entitled or rude attitude. Just be nice, and people will be nice back.
The other piece of advice I like came from my old boss at Madame Tussauds, he told me to “know your onions”. i.e. if you get drilled on the detail, you know every layer they delve down to. I do pride myself on knowing my onions – especially numbers – I’m a bit of a Statto when it comes to that.

4. What did you dream of being when you were young?
Unlike most kids, who dreamt of being a fireman, astronaut or footballer, I wanted to be a Formula One driver. I still do to be honest. I’ve loved F1 since about the age of 14 in the classic days of turbos and massive personalities. More recently it’s lost its shine (since Hamilton was robbed of the championship!). It all seems a bit contrived and feels sensationalised to gain audiences rather than true sportsmanship. Also working at the Natural History Museum it doesn’t feel very sustainable and planet friendly. While F1 is trying to move to net zero, I do think there is a long way to go on this.

5. What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Good question, I can’t remember the last laugh out loud moment, but do remember crying laughing at the Would I lie to You sketch with Bob Mortimer doing self-dentistry. Search it up, it will brighten up your day.

6. What keeps you awake at night?
Oh, the usual… stress at work and the like. When I can’t sleep, I try to design things in my head and work out how to fix things in practical way. I designed a brilliant deck for our home while lying in bed unable to sleep, then drew it on the back of an envelope and then built it myself (with some help from the family!).

7. What is your favourite word?
Paradigm. No idea why – probably because I find it hard to use it properly in a sentence.

8. Which talent are you most envious of?
Piano players. When I pass them in train station concourses and someone is sat there banging out some amazing tunes, I always wish I could play like that. I did have piano lessons once but hated my teacher as she used to slam the lid on my knuckles or hit me with a ruler if I played a bum note. I guess they’re not allowed to do that anymore so perhaps I should try again.

9. Which famous painting would you choose to have in your home?
Monet’s Poppy Field. I remember my mum and dad having the Athena framed poster at home in the 80’s (didn’t everyone’s parent have it?) and it wasn’t until I saw the actual painting in Paris that I fell in love with it. It was so much smaller than the poster but so vibrant – I couldn’t get over how red the red was considering it was painted in 1873!

10. What is your proudest moment?
This was tough one for me as I have been proud of many of my achievements, but one springs to mind. For the last 11 years the Heavy Metal Truants have been raising money for four amazing kids charities: Teenage Cancer Trust, Nordoff & Robbins, NSPCC Childline and Save the Children. It’s a 180 mile ride from Alexandra Palace to Donnington for Download (the Heavy Metal festival) set up by Iron Maiden’s Manager and the then Editor of Metal Hammer. There’s usually around 30 or so of us cycling with great camaraderie helping each other up those horrible hills. But the first time I crossed the line I was overcome with huge emotion, that a). I managed to cycle all that way without collapsing and b.) how much money we’d raised for these charities. I’ve done it every year for 9 years now, and we’ve raised over £1.2 million. We’ve helped a lot of kids. I’m so proud to be part of this group of dedicated individuals.