"I was a junior salesperson and I stayed for a week of sales training – my one residing memory was that there was a lot of concrete in the city centre."

A lot has changed in Ajaz's life since then. He rode the dotcom wave better than most, following his very own "eureka moment" which saw him revolutionise the way people logged on to the net with his launch of Freeserve. "When I first heard about the internet I was desperate to try it out but couldn't find a simple way to access it – I realised that this was a common problem, so I thought I'd find a solution."

Freeserve became the UK's largest internet service provider within three months of its launch in 1998. Less than a year later it had floated at a market cap of £1.5bn and was sold for £1.6bn to Wanadoo in 2001.

Although he lives in Huddersfield, and is a board member of Huddersfield's renowned Media Centre, Ajaz continues to be a big fan of Sheffield as a place to do business. He is chairman of city web design agency Quba.

John Lewis

It's no surprise that Sheffield city centre has relied so much on this flagship store for its identity through its darkest days. Its customer service is fantastic.

If there was ever a glowing endorsement for staff ownership it's this place: you can positively feel their passion for the place. It's going to be great to see it set the seal on a new era for the city centre's retail offering once the New Retail Quarter is up and running in a few years.

Sheffield Arena

Leeds will forever ask themselves why they didn't get this venue. But why not Sheffield? The venue consistently stages brilliant acts and it has really kept the city on the map.

Many people in Sheffield forget what an amazing contribution the city has made to music over the years with acts from Def Leppard to the Arctic Monkeys. I've been to lots of concerts at Sheffield Arena over the years and last year's Bollywood awards were absolutely amazing.

Quality bars and restaurants

A city centre needs a good range of quality venues that are suitable for business meetings as well as lunch and a drink. It's great to see the area around the Peace Gardens opening up and offering an ever stronger mix of quality leisure establishments that are away from the more student-feel of West Street and I'm presently on a mission to try them all and find the best ones.

Cultural Industries Quarter

As a board member of Huddersfield's Media Centre – which is West Yorkshire's hub of creative and digital industries – I've always taken a keen interest in the growth of Sheffield's Cultural Industries Quarter. Steel City has been such a pioneer in this area and so many other places continue to take their lead from here.

Fargate and Dixons

There's no getting away from the fact that Sheffield city centre was badly hit by Meadowhall but Fargate boasts just the right mix of stores and a great shopping experience, something The Moor hasn't had for years.

I'm sure the eventual opening of The New Retail Quarter will really put the Sheffield city centre shopping experience back on the map.
When I'm in a reminiscing mood I'll often pop into Dixons, the company I was working for when I had my Eureka moment.

Sheffield Railway Station

I have to disagree with Sheffield singer/songwriter's Richard Hawley's "large urinal" comment – I love the public art outside Sheffield Station and it's a fantastic introduction to Sheffield.

I normally use the train to commute to Sheffield and the new station has completely transformed the place.

Quba/Belgravia House

I just love our new office – it's amazing to have found such breathtaking and historical surroundings on the fourth floor of Rockingham Street, an area better known for its modern high-rise.

We've just moved into the former 19th century school room of the Chapter House and we're in the process of renovating it.

Sheffield University

Another reason for even more frequent visits to Sheffield will be my son starting university later this year – he's going to be studying philosophy.

I can't think of anywhere better to be a student, to be honest. It has two of the country's top universities, a fantastic music and clubbing scene and some amazing new businesses either starting up or re-locating here that will be able to benefit from the readily available talent.

And while I'm on the subject, Quba are always on the lookout for quality designers so please drop us a line to jobs@quba.co.uk