Founder Experience
The person
A result driven, self-motivated, and resourceful business leader with a proven ability to develop and strengthen management teams in order to maximise company profitability / efficiency / shareholder value . Experienced in leading and growing all sectors of a business to make it a dynamic and progressive organisation. Possessing excellent communication skills and able to establish sustainable and profitable relationships with customers, suppliers, and stakeholders across the world.
I have extensive experience delivering results through my leadership in established / turnaround / start-up business functions.
Being qualified Chartered Director with over 25 years Executive Board Leadership within major corporate business / PLC /SME / family business environments. I have a proven track record of constantly over delivering share holder expectation with a very flexible and engaging approach, with the ability to lead at all levels of the business with empathy whilst results are achieved.
I am now looking for a new and challenging leadership position, one which will make best use of my existing skills and experience gained over my extensive and varied Board level career to date. Working at PLC and Ltd level I can help your business at any level
Highlights of Expertise
• Entrepreneurial with commercial acumen and excellent management skills.
• Strong leaderships skills in board governance, new business development.
• Driving revenue growth through new customer acquisition
• Driving Revenue growth from people incentivisation schemes
• Astute commercial acumen with P&L Ownership
• Strategy Development & Implementation
• Business Process / Re-Engineering/ Restructuring
• Financial Administration & Cost Control
• Making mergers acquisitions work with cultural cohesion
• ISO process creation & implementation
• Strong ability in leading HR function and process to create great environments
• Analytical and decisive decision maker
• Delivering a first-class national service
• Effective leadership of a multi-disciplined service-oriented organisation
• Change Management
• Contract Negotiation
• Budget Delivery
• Engaging and clear communicator
• Driven by quality / integrity/ Service Excellence
• Creating environments with clear deliverables
• Setting achievable but challenging targets
• Critical friend of the Board brings balance
• Best practice H&S Leadership
• Board dynamic & team cohesion
• Team development is my passion
• Best practice H&S Leadership
Some Executive Background
New Business Venture
DIRECTOR (July 2015 to Present)
Lumenlinks Ltd
After some 20 years of International corporate life and considerable extensive global international travel to find distribution channels/ suppliers & exhibiting across the world I decided to create Lumenlinks Ltd . I was very fortunate that the corporate companies I worked for invested in my formal and informal education as I was keen to bring best practice to the business .This I did and all companies grew and benefited (as did I )from their investment into my education.
I started Lumenlinks Ltd in 2015 with an idea called the Eye ,an smart innovative floodlight home solution ,which I gained patents & design protection for, but sadly could not find investment at the time as it was too early in the smart , so I diversified into consulting business in 2017 which in essence kept my in the corporate world but as a Ltd business . I list below some of my achievements in this period.
• Non-Exec Wheelsure Holdings PLC vetted & approved PLC Director (Please see below NED Positions )
• Developed online portfolio of unique smart lighting products, promoted profitable brand for three years, and boosted turnover from 0 to 120k.
• Sold over 35K units to Crompton and established white label lighting as flagship product a smart downlighter.
• Weblight Ltd Completed William Hill Led retrofit project worth 3.5M within time and budgetary constraints.
• Set Up international supply chain network with UK and international manufactures and distributors
• Patented several technology's through to PCT
• Found out how hard it is to run a business on my own and all aspects of finance and international trading
• Hytronik UK Director of operations (an electronics business ) Distressed turnaround remit
IVITI Lighting Limited, Telford Shropshire
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (January 2012 to July 2015)
I was approach by the TIA group a 400m tyre business that had invested 3m in LED lighting stocks into this emergent market of LED lighting without understanding the market . Their desire was to create and be in the top 10 lighting suppliers in the UK . This was my approach.
• Took time to understand people and issues
• Created a 5-year development strategy based around high volume sales into electrical wholesale markets
• Recruited new sales team of 5
• Recruited office team and technical staff
• Reviewed existing supply chains
• Evaluation of stock holding and longevity
• Obtained approval from top five electrical wholesalers in UK
• Attained and created operating systems to have ISO 9001 and 14001 accreditations within 8 months .
• Re-structured Dutch business and introduced distribution process with Israel, UAE, Ireland, and Germany.
• Achieved sales profit of £1.1M, £2.3M, and £3.4M in three years with projection of flOM in five years.
• Set-up international division secured commercial expansion in Holland, and cultivated trade with MITIE to 600K.
• Accomplished 30% stake in inventor business with equity swop, attained rights over patent for next 100 years, and built OEM business with IVITI ON lamp.
• Found main brands willing to support the manufacture and distribution Iviti on lamp Samsung / Sony /Vestel
• Created IVITI as a brand working with the Lighting Industry association
• Severed on European lighting boards for industry
• Personally, designed and created new products with technical director
• Designed and implemented CRM system
• Became tier one supplier to electrical wholesalers top 5
Weblight Limited, Hoddesdon Hertfordshire
Steered corporate-wide re-structure, applied KR monitoring system, and enforced culture change that encouraged needs based inter-department staff utilisation to turnaround failing business into success.
EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR (January 2008 to January 2012)
Set company mission, implemented successful corporate governance plans, and executed robust H&S initiatives. Determined training needs the 150-work force, promoted career development opportunities, and executed mentoring programmes to enhance operational activities of staff. Conducted business review of seven profit centres, shared results with each departmental head, and updated clients on contractual progress. Controlled costs, authorised payments, and vetted bids over 50K with sales team. Sourced innovative fleet and access machinery to improve productivity.
• Boosted net profits by 20% and maximised productivity by 30% from £110 per engineer to £160 per day that increased margin by 1.3M PA.
• Reduced number of accidents from 30 pa to 3 by promoting zero accident culture.
• Dropped absenteeism by 30% through introduction of bonus scheme, monthly reviews, and management communication meetings.
• Drove strike rate from 10% to 25% with new pricing matrix, reduced costs, and implemented new IT systems.
• Improved on time customer service from 60% to 95% and slashed outstanding service calls to 200 from 3500.
• Won H&S awards and grew special focused projects division to 4M per annum by creating business stream of compliance and installation.
• Introduced KPI management monitoring across all functions for strategic decision making.
• Consolidated 14 branches to 7 further increasing profits whilst increasing customer service levels
David Webster Lighting Ltd, Stanstead Abbotts
Turned around falling business resulting in successful sale and merger
DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR (January 2002 — December 2007) David Webster Ltd the market leading national street lighting maintenance and installation contractor. Their core business was local authority and it employed 450 staff operating from a national branch network of 14 with a turnover £85m. In May.495 the Company was acquired by ETDE, a French construction business and subsidiary of Bouygues Construction with turnover in excess of €25 billion. In January 2006 we created the ETDE UK board which united 3 subsidiaries creating a holding company with a turnover of £170m. This change saw me sensitively and pro-actively manage and implement culture change from small, hierarchical family business to medium corporate, introducing and implementing the concept of flexible, needs based inter-departmental staff utilisation based on matching individual skill base to corporate task profiles.
• Implemented training system, which includes full on-going matrix system, the introduction of an Apprentice scheme, and company intranet with an interactive Health & Safety training programme.
• Implemented full HR programme and procedures including installation of interactive Personnel and Recruitment software, creation of a Staff Handbook, formalised appraisal systems and Career Growth programme.
• Implemented new IT systems and software, which streamlined the business, increased productivity of staff, increased security and reduced costs.
• Appointed Managing Director on the UK Board with additional responsibilities including acquisition responsibility to gain long term competitive advantage via breadth of offer.
• Closed 4 Private Finance Initiative bids gaining business of f700m over the 25-year term.
• Built and delivered UK Group strategy including the launch of mission vision values for David Webster LTD & ETDE. This had to dovetail to the larger corporate but still maintain its independence following the acquisition of this 45-year-old family business and was without question one of my toughest challenges and achievements.
• Effected a complete transformation of the organisation culture and business model whilst engendering a sense of empowerment and accountability within the Senior Management Team and instilling pride at all levels.
• Turnaround business and created platform to sell company making it attractive to corporate moving from £2m loss to £3m profit in 2 years.
NED background
Wheelsure PLC, Milton Keynes Bedfordshire
Provided entrepreneurial leadership for business growth by developing of new products and capitalising on channel opportunities to penetrate untapped market and to increase sales for existing core business.
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (November 2016 to Present)
On top of my normal duties of being a critical friend and an independent director offering perspective and objectivity I have helped to conceptualise a five-year transformational plan and employed app developers to form data transfer and client interface platform. Collaborated with Graphene for creation of sensor washer in pursuit of drastically reducing cost. Supported on all business issues, tracked strategic plan's implementation progress, composed company statements, and formulated grant applications. Forged relations with Board members of network rail/London underground and Graphene Institute/Haydale PLC during periodic meetings to facilitate new R&D of iNUT solution.
• Raised 500K to implement plans by communicating new commercial strategy to more than 50 investors and secured 750K in two years from institutional city investors.
• Created new subsidiary company's iNUT Group and iNUT UK Limited by creating technology that facilitated remote monitoring of bolts for tension.
• Oversaw comprehensive re-branding process to WS Group.
The PIP Ltd, Fareham
NON-EXECUTIVE November 15 to April 16
This start-up company had a new innovative fire prevention product which was a heat sensitive resister which cut the electricity in the event of a fire, I helped the Board develop a 5 year strategic plan and a put in place proper board governance unfortunately fund ran out so I resigned
Professional Development
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Annual CPD for the IOD: ILM Level 7 Programme — Executive Coaching and Mentoring
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Qualified Qualified Chartered Director I Bouygues Construction Marco Polo International Business Leader Programme
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Cranfield School of Management Business Leaders Residential Programme
Affiliations
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Fellow of Institute of Directors I Member of Cranfield Management Association
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European ROMS Committee Member for Lighting Industry Association
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Member of Institute of Management Member of Associate Institute of Lighting Engineers