The APA chief executive is religiously devoted to Spurs, never misses a copy of Private Eye and can’t stay away from the Italian sun
Steve Davies has had a firm hand on the tiller of the UK’s Advertising Producers Association as its chief executive for many years now, protecting the interests of the production, VFX, editing, music and sound companies that make the UK one of the most admired markets in the world for advertising. He’s an outspoken, often crusading, advocate for the industry he serves, something his past as a lawyer in sports and entertainment no doubt prepared him for - he’s represented champion boxers including Mike Tyson in the past, so he’s a good man to have fighting your corner. But there’s much more to Steve than you might know. So we asked him for his Essential List to get to know him a bit better.
Travel
o Place of birth: Adelaide
A snapshot of Steve's Australian childhood
o Hometown: London
o Staycation: Gwithian Towans
o Vacation: Italy
o Place of work: Soho
o Place of workout: Better gym, Highbury
o Place of worship: White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
o Mode of transport: Tube
Steve's everyday commute
o Miscellaneous Travel Essential: New York Times app
Culture
o Artist: Marc Chagall
o Musician: Neil Young
o Commercials director: All of them!
o Film director: Woody Allen
o Photographer: Ansell Adams
o Film: The Fog of War
o Series: The Sopranos
o Commercial: Stella Artois Ice Skating Priests
o Music Video: J Hus - ‘Did You See’
o Book: The Corrections by Jonathan Frantzen
o Newspaper (off or online): The Times
o Magazine: Private Eye
o Miscellaneous Art: Andrea Palladio, Thomas Heatherwick
Steve and his wife, Melissa, in front of the Villa Rotunda, Vicenza- Palladio’s most famous building.
Food and Drink
o Restaurant: Palomar
o Cheap bite: Finks Salt and Sweet
o Working lunch: Princi, Wardour Street
o Dish: Beetroot salad
o Snack: Fruit ideally, Belgian bun in reality
o Guilty Pleasure: Bagels, The Happening Bagel Bakery, Finsbury Park