Admiring the ordinary people who do the extraordinary

ON THE COUCH: Henrik Wulff is managing director of Bayer Healthcare

ON THE COUCH:Henrik Wulff is managing director of Bayer Healthcare

Family/personal:

Married to Dorde with four children.

Which living person do you most admire and why?

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I can't say that I admire any one person in particular. What I really admire is ordinary people doing extraordinary things like the people who climbed the highest peaks in each county in Ireland in 100 hours earlier this year.

What do you regard as the top three problems facing Ireland's health system?

Our ageing and increasing population is a big challenge and we need to make sure we can keep on helping these people with modern medicine.

Continued access to new and innovative treatments is also important, especially in cancer and other areas where there is a big clinical need. Finally, we need to make sure Ireland remains an attractive place for pharmaceutical companies.

What is your greatest extravagance?

l have a weakness for all sorts of electrical gadgets.

What is your most unhealthy habit?

Smoking.

What kind of things do you do to relax?

I relax by doing things. I started to run five years ago and I did my first marathon earlier this year.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

I would invite all my closest friends to a nice restaurant overlooking the Acropolis in Athens.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Sitting down to a large pint of ice-cold lager after a long day at the beach with my wife and children.

What trait do you most value in your friends?

Loyalty and a sense of good fun.

What talent would you most like to have?

I have always had a dream of being a rock-n-roll singer.

Do you use alternative/ complementary medicines or therapies?

No.

What is your earliest memory?

The day I escaped from my kindergarten and ran to the hospital to see my mother who was having surgery.

What is your most treasured possession?

A very large stuffed moosehead from Finland that was given to me as a going away present from colleagues at my old job.

I had to reserve a few seats on the aeroplane to get it home.

What other career might you have chosen?

Pilot.

What books or films have inspired you?

Jack Welch's Winning.

• In conversation with Fiona Tyrrell