Favourite Things: '˜I'm proud of the city and excited for the future'

The former All Saints School student was signed as an apprentice footballer by the Blades at the age of 16, and went on to play professionally for the club until the age of 21 when he was forced to retire due to a chronic injury.

Now living in Loxley with his wife Jess and two daughters Bella, aged seven, and Scarlett, three, David has been on the Board of health and wellbeing company

Westfield Health since 2015 after spells working for Norwich Union Life and thebigword.

Hillsborough park run

In our area we are spoilt for choice when it comes to getting outdoors, and I love walking with family and friends in the Peaks or around the Bradfield area.

The parkrun at Hillsborough Park is always a good way to start the weekend too. I started doing this last year and it is definitely one of my New Year’s resolutions to do it more regularly.

Grind Cafe

Grind Café in Kelham Island has been a favourite for me and my family lately. Their breakfast is amazing and, like many places in Kelham Island, it’s always buzzing with a great atmosphere.

It’s good to see how the former industrial area is booming and becoming increasingly popular with students, young professionals and families.

The area was recently named as one of the top ten coolest places in Britain, and it’s excellent to see this type of revival getting recognition across the country.

Admiral Rodney Pub

Another good one is the Admiral Rodney in Loxley – this is probably my favourite local, mostly for its great views, food and beer.

It’s relaxed and welcoming, and somewhere I can go with my family. It has changed over the years from quite a traditional old pub into a place that maintains its history but has moved with the times.

People often talk about the diversity of Sheffield’s landscape but you can literally be in the city centre or out in the Peak District within half an hour.

Sporting Sheffield

Bramall Lane is a place where I’ll always have fond memories and it is somewhere I still visit regularly.

However, the developments at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in the lower Don Valley are what excite me most.

With Westfield Health being a major partner of Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC), we are working to transfer learning and knowledge from elite sport down to the wider population through innovative technology and interventions in the workplace and at home.

As a city we should be very proud of our growing reputation for excellence in research and development, and how we’re translating this into high-value manufacturing and advanced wellbeing solutions.

We are bringing together expertise from our universities, hospitals and private sector and channelling it into innovation and technology which is supporting the wellbeing of workforces nationwide, and ultimately redefining our region.

The region is becoming internationally renowned very quickly for this model of development.

I’m excited to be working at the very forefront of these developments, playing our part to ensure people have the tools and opportunities to be happy and healthy.

City Centre

The most interesting part of my job is being up and close to the vision of Sheffield for the future.

Our new Westfield House building on Charter Row overlooks the emerging Retail Quarter and you can see construction is well underway, creating world-class shopping, leisure, residential and office spaces.

Sheffield often gets overlooked for its city centre offering, but I think it will soon be punching its weight nationally. There are developments happening all over the city whether its Alsop Fields or the New Era project on St Mary’s roundabout.

I’m intensely proud of Sheffield and will always been a big advocate of it.