Malik came to the UK at 16 from Pakistan, not speaking English. Now he is Technical Director at VTSL and our number one go-to person for virtually any problem, in any language. What usually strikes people most when they first meet Malik is his vast amount of knowledge on everything from astrophysics, to VoIP, to Chinese food, and his limitless enthusiasm for life. Neeedless to say, Malik is not your average guy. In the first of our Employee Spotlight Interviews, we ask Malik a few questions about his favourite things.

How long have you worked at VTSL?

4 years.

What is your favourite part about your job?

Our customers. Particularly when they give us good feedback!

Where do you want to be in 10 years?

Ideally I want to live on Mars. That is my dream. But I doubt I will be able to do that in ten years, so I would have to say starting my own company. I’m not exactly sure doing what, but I definitely want to have my own business.

What do you do in your spare time?

I used to play computer games a lot in my spare time but recently I’ve moved away from that and go to the theatre, go for runs, go for picnics, hang out with people, go for drinks… eat food, it is mostly all about food actually. I really enjoy food and most of my friends are pretty adventurous so we always find new places to go when we go out. We don’t go to the same places.

Where is the coolest place you’ve ever been?

In China, in the mountains of Chengdu province, we were literally above the clouds. That is the coolest place I have ever been. It took 4 hours to trek up there. Most of the people we met were Tibetan as we were travelling west towards Tibet. It was very cool.

What is your favourite album?

One Republic, Dreaming Out Loud

What is your favourite food?

My favourite food is sweet and sour king prawns with egg fried rice. But my favourite cuisine in general is Thai.

What makes you laugh?

There are many things that make me laugh. Jokes make me laugh. I tend to be happy most of the time. Small things make me laugh. Someone saying something, a statement, an ironic one, slightly out of context - that makes me laugh.

Who do you respect?

My mom, a lot. She brought me into this world and has guided me. She is the person I would say I respect most.

If you were given £10,000 right now, what would you spend it on?

£10,000 hmmmm, that is not a lot (laughs). You see I want to build a computer, but… nevermind. I would get a car. A BMW 3 series.

What does VTSL stand for?

It is a secret! Maybe the T is for Telephony. Or maybe not (smiles). Actually VTSL stands for great hosted VoIP services for UK businesses.

Awwww, thanks Malik.