Fernando Prieto (HomeServe Spain): “I would have liked to cook for Winston Churchill. He would provide the whiskey and the cigar”

Fernando Prieto (58 years old, Naples), CEO of Homeserve Spain, a company specialising in home care and maintenance, has found the formula for happiness. A few beers and a good meal with his friends and family are enough for him to maintain his vital balance and regain his strength. His own house, which they have named El Sarao, has become the centre of these continuous celebrations, in which he himself takes charge of the stove. Question. What three adjectives do you think best define you? Answer. I like to think that I am honest, positive and I am convinced that I am a fighter. Q. What are your passions? A. Almost all the simple pleasures. I like food, I am passionate about beer and everything that beer entails, like being with friends. I like opening a bottle of good wine and that sharing and that chat is probably what I like most in the world. It is not too elaborate, but well… That is the ideal, getting together with lots of people. I will tell you that my house is called El Sarao because it is designed to meet with my family, with my friends and try to have as many people there dancing, drinking a beer, laughing and enjoying ourselves. Probably, what drives my whole life and everything I do professionally is aimed at being able to enjoy those moments afterwards. Q. Do you cook? A. A lot and well. At home the kitchen is mine, from the morning coffee or a fried egg to more elaborate things, like a fabulous lamb or fish baked in a wood oven. I buy the pans myself and sometimes I spend so much money that my wife tells me I'm a little crazy. I enjoy it a lot. Q. What is the dish that you make best? A. I would say that the one I make best is pork cheeks in red wine, but I am becoming more professional in some rice dishes. I am now able to make well-made rice for 30 people. Q. Is there always something to eat and drink in your fridge? A. Always. The fridge is always full and, in fact, I have a fridge just for beer. There is always a cheese or whatever. You can always put something on the table and have something to drink. Q. Which historical or current figure would you like to feed or share a beer with? A. If it were historical, I think it would be Winston Churchill. I am convinced that I would feed him well, and he would provide the whisky and the cigar. We would have a fabulous after-dinner conversation. If it were current, I would think of a large table with very different people, with completely different opinions, who would argue a lot and well among themselves. I would bring Joaquín Sabina and Ana Patricia Botín together. I think that the time I would spend with Sabina would be unique. If I had to choose just one it would be him, I would love to meet him. Q. What music do you like? A. All of it, but it is Spanish music from the 80s that makes us sing and have a good time. And Sabina is my number one. Q. Do you dance? A. Yes. He danced badly, but I like to dance whenever I can. Q. What do you think all these friends who come to your house think of you? A. I think they would tell you that I am nice. And if you were to talk more seriously with them, I would like to think that they would tell you that they know that I love them very much and that I depend greatly on them, on my environment and on my people, to maintain my vital balance. That is to say, if they took me away from my environment and took me to live abroad, I am sure that for a while I would be a weaker person. Q. How do you disconnect? A. I think that disconnecting from work has a cliché component. I mean, because of the type of work that I have now and that I have had in recent years, you cannot disconnect. You don't even want to disconnect completely. I mean, you are taking care of a living thing and it is not easy to disconnect. I suppose it is the same with me as with my children. I mean, if you have a bad time with them, you cannot say 'I am going to disconnect from my children'. Well, you just put up with it and carry on, right? I would say that I don't switch off from work. What I do try to do is manage the intensity and what relaxes me the most or what allows me to be the strongest the next day is my environment again, my friends, a few beers, chatting, laughing… Q. How do you take care of yourself? Do you do any sport? A. I'm not a born athlete, I never have been, but let's say that now I do as much sport as I can for health. I try to get my heart to 120 or 130 beats per minute three or four times a week with the exercise bike or with walks or trying to play golf, which I've been trying to learn for 25 years and there's no way. Q. What would you have liked to do? A. It's easy to answer, because I come from a family of pilots, my father was a pilot and, in fact, my two brothers are pilots and many of my nephews are going to be. I had a vision problem and I had to rule out that option, so if I had a magic wand and could change and go back, I probably would have tried it. Q. What is the trait of your personality that you are most proud of? A. I am very proud of the intensity with which I love my family and how I try to protect them, make them happy, help them. I like that. Q. Do you consider yourself a happy person? A. Absolutely. Because I have a wife and children who make me happy and who are essential in my life. I have a wonderful family, I have friends, I am healthy. And if that were not enough, I have a job that I like and that allows me to achieve more things than I could have dreamed of. I think that if I did not say that I am absolutely happy, I would be posing a tremendous challenge to life. Q. What is your favorite movie? A. I have never experienced such strong and difficult emotions as those I experienced with Schindler's List. I have seen it about six or seven times and I always discover new things and I get a lump here. Q. And the book? A. There is a book that I find absolutely wonderful, which is Waiting for Mister Bojangles. It's a short and beautiful love story. I remember my wife and I read it on holiday, we were on a train. And then I picked up the phone, looked up the song Mr. Bojangles, by Nina Simone, and when I played it for her, after having read the book, she started crying her eyes out. Here you can check out the latest interviews 'After work'Follow all the information about Economy and Business on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter