personal stories

Village People: Neil Tomlinson

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By Jacqueline Elmore

There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we begin to question our place in the world, our role on the planet and sometimes even our ethical approach to how we choose to spend our time. The catalyst for deeper introspection often occurs after a big life event; the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, or simply the realisation that life itself is short and that whilst we are here it is important to live it wisely and to live it well.

For Neil Tomlinson, self-confessed environmental activist and owner of water brand Aquapax, that moment came when his father passed away and he asked himself ‘what is it that I am truly doing with my life? How do I want to make a difference?’. It was at this juncture in Neil’s life that his view of the world changed and he began a new journey away from the corporate tide.

At the height of Neil’s ‘corporate career he hadn’t planned’ he was Head of Group Marketing and New Country Development with a European financial institution. Most Monday mornings he would fly out on the red eye from Heathrow to Madrid, Brussels or Amsterdam and be on the return flight home on Friday evening, long after most people had shut down for the weekend.

(See the July 2019 issue of Cuckfield Life for the full story)