Senior Partner
Swallowwood Consultancy LLP
Total years of experience :13 years, 11 Months
Employment History
March 2006 - 2012 The Swallowwood Partnership
Management Consultancy
Turnover c GBP 850k
• Our consultancy business operated in a variety of areas within the manufacturing/ services sector
• Projects included lean manufacturing, “change management”, product launch & “business start- up”
Major projects included;
A full process improvement project covering logistics, supply chain, warehousing, staffing, distribution and installation, for one of the largest UK fitted furniture manufacturers, during which in the first 3 months we saved them £1.1m, after which the client wished to progress to “implementation stage”, out of which, Rubicon Developments Ltd was created, as a company, engaging 9 full time employees, c40 “sub-contractors” and installing c £10m of fitted furniture during the last calendar year.
Additional projects through “Swallow Wood Consultancy LLP” included;
o Developed first to second generation ownership transition for a “Sub-Contract Precision Engineering” client, also improving production methods, eradicating waste and assisting with sales and sales order processes.
o Improved productivity and methods within a niche vehicle OEM, resulting in 100% revenue growth and equivalent output improvement.
o Developed KTP strategy for that client
o Product launch for a client involved in “Renewable Energy”
o Increased business turnover by 100% for a “Sheet-Metal” manufacturer (£1m value).
o Set up accredited training models for major clients, working closely with “Construction Skills” and co-writing/ implementing NVQ 2 qualification.
o Secured grant funding for a client to service a £2m military vehicle contract, for Iraq and Afghanistan.
As stated above, a further group company (Rubicon Developments Limited), was born out of a 12 week consultancy assignment, carried out by our company "Swallowwood", during which, we saved a UK fitted furniture manufacturer £1.1 million pounds, by restructuring their whole logistics chain, as well as streamlining the warehousing and furniture installation processes. I directly managed 2 warehouses (Leeds and Manchester) and devised and implemented the SOPs and trained all staff, including those in the contact centre, before rolling out the model to 5 further warehouses, training the associated regional operations managers in their use.
Rubicon Developments grew and transformed into not just a furniture installation company with upwards of 45 installers but also an established and respected training company, delivering a diverse range of courses, including languages, furniture installation, director mentoring (The Ambition Club), computer training and back to work courses delivered on behalf of the local authority and "Job Centre Plus".
In 2009, we were presented with a "National Training Award", by Ranvir Singh of the BBC, on behalf of "Skills Solutions", "City and Guilds" and the "NWDA", in recognition of our high training achievements.
A further business, which was a natural addition to our training and installation business, was a boutique style fitted kitchen, bedroom and bathroom business started from scratch and running concurrently, before my wife and business partner was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 37 and I shut the businesses down to care for her at home, before she died on new years’ day 2013.
I now rent out our business premises and volunteer at the hospice that did so much for us.
Established precision engineering company
Turnover c. GBP1.1 million
15 employees
Tooling, work holding & sub-contract machining
Initially engaged in an interim position
• Responsible for quality, sales and business development and all aspects of factory and personnel management
• Developed marketing strategies and targets
• Cross industry sales improved within first 3 months by 44%
• Further increased turnover by 10% financial year 2, 20% financial year 3
• Wages to sales ratio improved from 49% to 32%
Established precision sheet metal company
Turnover GBP1.7 million
32 employees
Telecoms/ Electronics/ Retail fittings
Developed several new accounts including one for £350k.
Nationwide field sales and business development.
Wire Harness manufacturer
Turnover GBP3.6 million
Sales to automotive, off highway vehicles, electronics, white goods and niche manufacturers.
Increased sales through customer development, new business development and also new product development including innovative products for the truck/ trailer market.
Initially employed in an interim role
Reported to MD and directly responsible for 2 x sales engineers and c 14 engineering staff.
Consulting within sales and business development to clients within automotive, lighting and other markets within the UK but also Turkey.
Long established automotive clutch and brake OEM
Part of a GBP250m MBO
Turnover GBP26m
140 employees
Took over from previous "Sales Director". Reporting jointly to the MD and Technical Director.
Responsible for all aspects of business management
including:
- Management, targeting (via KPI’s) and motivation of a field sales team (4 staff)
- Development of business plans & strategies, the controlling of annual sales revenues & budgets
- Liaising with major customers & key accounts
- Identifying and implementing market & product opportunities
- Marketing, advertising & promotional activities
- Attending trade shows to support new business & dealer activity (including USA)
- The co-ordination of sales-related R&D activity
Customers included:
- MG-Rover
- BMW
- Volvo
- RVI
- Paccar
- JCB
- Honda
My key achievements included:
- Establishing training programmes and KPI’s to improve sales performance
- Project management of a £200k project (new business with Land Rover Freelander)
- Development of an effective US sales network of 13 major distributors
- Reducing the UK sales team from 6 down to 4 to improve company profitability
- Customer turnover increases of 31%+
- Improved turnover by c £4m on previous £26, 5m.
Automotive clutch OEM (German owned)
GBP60 million UK
Circa GBP400 million worldwide
4000 + employees
Responsible for sales and business development with CASE tractors, New Holland, Toyota and GM
BSc in design plus languages (German)
