With his recent appointment as director of the British Council in Hong Kong, Peter Upton is back where it all started. A professional journey that took him into teaching, government policy work and building cultural relationships began in the mid-1970s as a young police inspector in Hong Kong.
'In some ways, my career progression has been quite eccentric,' says Upton, whose last two postings were in Thailand and Nigeria. 'But it has been a continual quest for skills enhancement while being unafraid to take risks and actually enjoying what I do.'
After a degree in England and a scholarship year at the University of Michigan, the main attraction of police work in Hong Kong was the chance to do something very different. Arriving in 1976, Upton was assigned to the then general investigation office, checking into reported crimes, following up leads and dealing with all the different sections of the community.
'It was an excellent opportunity to work in a multicultural society and learn Cantonese,' he says. 'But after just under two years, I decided policing wasn't for me. It was a question of asking was this something I wanted to do for 20 to 30 years, and I decided not.'
Instead, he returned to Britain and went into teaching. The switch was an early sign of themes that later defined Upton's career: making the most of transferable skills, playing an active part in change management and being prepared to break new ground.
In particular, he came to see how effective teaching and new ideas could dramatically change young people's lives. The key, he realised, while working his way up through the system, was not to let students accept what they had been given. To liberate thinking and help people succeed, the teacher's role was to develop existing skill sets, look for other strengths and focus on them.