Each week Bath Business News gives a prominent member of the city’s business community the last word on our weekly e-bulletin.
This week Victor da Cunha, chief executive of Curo Group, answers our 10 questions
What was the LAST: 
Film you watched? I watched Dawn of the Apes recently on pay-per-view. Surprisingly good, although you really can’t beat the original version with Charlton Heston.
Book you read? My mum bought me Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares. The story is based loosely on historical facts and takes place mainly in São Tomé e Pricipe at the turn of the last century. The fictional story explores what really happened after slavery had officially been abolished. Well worth a read.
Music you bought or downloaded? I download lots of music. Looking at my app, I can see that my last download was Sing that Song by Tieks; a dance track. Having been a semi-pro DJ for a number of years I still enjoy that sort of music, which makes my 18-year-old daughter laugh quite a bit.
Concert or play you went to? We try and get to the Royal Opera House from time to time but sadly it’s been nearly a year since we saw Romeo & Juliet there.
Sporting event you attended? My cousin is a Sporting Lisbon season ticket holder, so my last sporting event was watching Sporting Lisbon play FC Belenenses at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon. It was a rather boring 1-1 result.
Holiday you went on? My last proper holiday was The Ice Hotel in Swedish Lapland. Fabulous and cold experience – one for the ‘bucket list’.
Restaurant you ate in? I eat out regularly across Bath but last night I had a great pie and mash at the Raven Pub. Yum.
Thing that annoyed you? NIMBYism is my biggest irritation. Most people now appreciate that we have a major housing problem. We simply don’t build enough homes to meet demand. The pressure for homes means that the average house price in Bath – at around £300,000 – is almost 12 times the average income for the district. A severe lack of housing is bad for the city, for the economy, for health. I know that people understand that rationale, the cold facts, but sadly despite this I still see those who have a home object to new homes being built. People forget that before their home was built, someone had to convince others in the locality to let it happen. We can’t preserve Bath in aspic. If we do, it will not only lose its world heritage designation, it will become a mausoleum.
Thing that made you laugh out loud? I’d rather not say 
Piece of good advice you were given? I have two thoughts that I carry around with me. The first is from Steve Jobs who said: “Find what you love doing, because the only way not to work is to love what you do”. I am blessed to say I have found what I love doing. The second is from an ex-Tottenham Hotspur coach… which is a real problem for a Gooner. Anyway, Bill Nicolson said this: “Set your sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory.” I love that ambition. Curo is all about ambition. If we are ambitious and show leadership in what we do, we will hopefully inspire others in our local community to do likewise.
Victor da Cunha is chief executive of Bath-based housing and support organisation Curo. Curo provides care and support services across the West of England and manages more than 12,000 homes, building around 300 additional homes every year.
