Chief executives like to say they are more than their jobs. Talk of hobbies, especially on social media, can serve to make bosses appear more human, or more impressive: demonstrating physical fitness, intellectual rigour or being cultured or charitable. It gives them a chance to flaunt qualities investors, boards and the public prize, but cannot easily measure.
But some business leaders just like to have fun. Extracurricular pursuits offer rare pockets of autonomy when seemingly every hour of the day is accounted for and CEOs are endlessly answerable to boards, shareholders and customers. This is what some top chief executives say about the activities that bring them joy. Anjli Raval
Rob Lucas, CEO, CVC
HOBBY: MOUNTAINEERING
When Rob Lucas was young, his uncle took him rock climbing in the Peak District.