The Listing recently chatted with Andrew Xia (which is actually pronounced ‘Shah’), who is the Founder of AIX Consultancy, a strategic business economic consulting company based in Royston with offices in Boston and China. He is also a Trustee of Home-Start, as well as a Governor of Roman Way Academy and a Volunteer Teacher at King James Academy Royston. 
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
We moved to Royston over 10 years ago and my wife and three children all love it here! My family and business clients span three continents (North America, Europe and Asia), so Royston is the perfect location given its easy access to airports, train lines, convenient time zone and mild climate. In fact, I actually prefer Royston to all the other places I have lived, which include Manhattan, Chicago, St, Louis, Canada and China.
What’s your favourite local place to eat?
I think we are spoiled for choice in terms of food options in Royston, as there are so many delicious restaurants. We probably most frequent the Jolly Postie, Rasa, Thai Rack, Ashiana, and of course the Heath, which all have great atmospheres.
What is the last book you read?
The last book I read was The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I absolutely, hate seeing films before reading the book, because the books are always infinitely better. So, with the movie coming out, I did not want it to ruin the book for me.
What is your favourite way to spend a Saturday?
I love boating or punting on the Cam with the family, having a picnic lunch, and enjoying nature. This is a pretty rare occurrence, as we are usually shuttling children to football games, swimming galas, kung fu classes or birthday parties.
What do you love about your work?
I love helping businesses and people solve problems. My work is the combination of being inquisitive, analysing data, programming, modelling finances and communicating effectively, so I get to wear a lot of different hats and work on a broad range of challenging projects.
What is your favourite quote?
“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead” – Mark Twain. I think it really speaks to how difficult and time consuming it is to do something well and communicate an idea concisely and effectively. I also have one that I came up with, which is “The grass is never greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.”
If you ruled the world, what would you do?
I would make the leader of every political organisation, group and country a woman. I think a lot of problems in the world derive from male egotism and would be solved with greater empathy.
What does success mean to you?
I like to measure success by the positive differences we make in people’s lives.
