Interview


10 minutes with... Nick Rutter, FireAngel


This month’s quick-fire interview is with Nick Rutter, co-founder and chief product officer at FireAngel.


What is your current role and how long have you been doing it? I co-founded FireAngel in 1998 and was technology director for 10 years, before becoming managing director for a further 10 years. In 2018, I became chief product officer, which is my current role. I am responsible for setting the technological vision of the business and ensuring our extensive portfolio of innovative safety solutions constantly evolves towards that vision.


Tea or coffee?


Coffee, but it’s got to be fresh, life’s too short for bad coffee.


What roles were you doing before and how did they prepare you for this one? Before FireAngel, I worked in Hong Kong as a product designer for Philips, designing audio products. As a product designer, I’ve always been interested in the creation and manufacture of products, which led me to the technology start-up that ultimately became FireAngel. Prior to the conception of FireAngel, the UK market for smoke alarms was flooded with products that ultimately provided a bad user experience. This prompted customers to have no brand loyalty, which is where we identified the opportunity to create an innovative safety product brand that combined the best of UK design and engineering skills with cost-effective high-volume manufacturing.


What do you see as the main issues for the industry at the moment?


There continues to be disparities between the levels of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) protection required throughout socially and privately rented properties across the UK. Whilst the amendments to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 have delivered much needed changes with regard to the regulation of smoke and CO alarms in private and rented properties, I believe that if the recommendations of the updated Scottish Tolerable Standard were applied to England, Wales and Northern Ireland a significant number of lives would be saved.


Who has influenced you the most professionally?


It’s a cliché to say Steve Jobs, because he’s influenced the entire, global product industry, however even 10


ewnews.co.uk


“There continues to be disparities between the levels of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) protection required throughout socially and privately rented properties across the UK.”


years after his death nobody has come close to his clarity of vision and drive to achieve it.


What do you consider your greatest achievement?


Over the last 20 years, FireAngel has achieved many industry firsts and holds over 80 granted patents. My passion has always been, and continues to be, ensuring we protect, save and improve our customers’ lives by making innovative, leading edge technology simple and accessible for everyone. This includes improving fire and home safety throughout communities by utilising technological advances to evolve the sector from basic and low value alarms to sophisticated IoT solutions that utilise AI to potentially avert fires before they even start.


Since 2001, FireAngel has sold over 70 million alarms, so I’m proud of the properties we protect


and the lives we’ve saved. However, I’d like to think the best is still to come, and I hope what FireAngel achieves with its Connected IoT technology will prove to be the greatest achievement of the entire FireAngel team.


If you’re at the bar - what are you drinking? A decent pint of crisp, cold IPA never misses the spot after a hard day!


Football, cycling, rugby, golf, gardening… what keeps you busy at the weekend? Motorbikes, mountain biking, motor racing, snowboarding, basically anything that moves.


What’s your favourite film and/or favourite book?


Book would have to be Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Film depends on the mood.


What has been the highlight of your career?


In 2014, FireAngel floated on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. To have taken a business from a kitchen table to standing in the Stock Exchange was a great feeling.


May 2022 electrical wholesaler | 33


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