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Change Your Job, Change Your Life

09.05.2006

Most people would baulk at the idea of swapping air-conditioned five-star luxury hotels and gourmet dining for nights under canvas, extreme humidity and boil in the bag chicken pasta. Not Niki Davies. In 2001 she waved a manicured goodbye to the glamour of new car launches with Peugeot, stepped out of her designer shoes and into the role of Event Director for the Land Rover G4 Challenge.

‘It’s more relaxed and more fun,’ she says, sitting on an insect infested porch in rural Laos. ‘Nobody cares if you don’t wear mascara in the morning, or don’t blow-dry your hair – and no one notices what brand of shoes you’re wearing. I love it.’

The job, she happily admits, wasn’t an instant attraction. ‘Land Rover told me they wanted to replace the Camel Trophy and sent me a video of the event. I was horrified. I thought I’d bitten off more than I could chew. But that was then. Now the only bad Monday is when I haven’t been out of the office travelling for the previous four weeks.’

That’s a fairly rare month. The job – ‘I basically run an adventure competition that takes 18 competitors along with 200 staff and global media off around the world for four weeks and get them home safely’ – keeps her on the rutted, muddy road for up to six months a year. ‘I love travelling; meeting new people and understanding different cultures – and I get paid to do it.

‘It’s so diverse and that’s crucial. Every single day and every phone call is different. One minute I’m discussing abseiling with the competition guys, the next it’s equipment in the kit bag, vehicles in the container or what kind of winch rope to use.’

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