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Director Level Interim Manager

Work Experience

Personal Profile:

An outstanding business achiever both as an independent contractor and consultant and as a general manager/director in multi-site retail and service operations; delivering exceptional results in difficult markets through strong business development skills and a proven record of profit improvement. An excellent communicator and team leader with rare strategic vision, business acumen and personal energy that has so far shown brilliant commercial results in highly competitive markets.

Career and Achievements to date:

Managing Director – Advance Associates. Jan. 1998-Present

A broad range of consultancy roles across a wide spectrum of industry sectors such as IT, Engineering, Retail, HR, Health Care and Financial Services all with a focus on developing people, the business and bottom-line results.
Set up from scratch a highly successful consultancy practice as a vehicle primarily for personal development and growth. Identified the personal need to ‘stretch’ and significantly broaden experience to facilitate future career aspirations. Delivering bespoke solutions to business issues ranging from team development, business start-ups, through Director Level coaching to strategy development and delivery across a number of organisations.

Achievements:
• Rapidly developed a diverse client base through referral

• Developed and co-delivered a leadership programme which resulted in turnover increases of c. £15M for a major engineering contractor.

• Successfully set up a number of start-up businesses and steered them through to profit.

• Gained personal experience of working with some highly effective directors and senior managers across a diverse range of businesses.

• Achieved a significant broadening of personal knowledge and business performance ‘delivery’ to now go on to attain greater personal career goals.


Director Western Division – Kwik-Fit (GB) Ltd. June 1996 – January 1998

A ‘General Management’ and operational role reporting directly to the Managing Director, with total P+L responsibility for the Division delivering a quality service at the lowest cost.
Leading a dynamic team of Divisional Office, Commercial (including stock purchase and logistics), Training and Development, Financial and property Managers, four Regional Managers and twenty four area managers coaching, developing and managing their skills to enable superior performance.
Designing and delivering marketing plans that delivered improved profitability and market share. Directing training standards which ensured compliance with ISO 9002 and ‘Investors in People’ status throughout the organisation.

Achievements:
• Rapidly adapted to a totally different industry and environment achieving significant business growth and turnaround within a very short timescale.

• Turned a long standing loss making Division into a profitable enterprise within six months.

• Achieved year on year sales growth that far outstripped the rest of the company across all product groups.

• Successfully reviewed and re-profiled the entire management and operational structure and resource to profitably meet the needs of the business.

• Accelerated the Divisional Property Plan to achieve beyond budget growth in acquisitions and new openings in the full financial year.


Regional Manager – Argos p.l.c. Sept. 1993 – June 1996

Managed over a third of the Argos retail chain responsible for the operation, business development and financial performance through the effective leadership of over 130 stores, with sales of over £540m. per annum. Provided the key interface between the stores and head office across all functions and, in particular, marketing, stock control, distribution, personnel and finance including the development of specific career and business plans for the area and store managers.

Achievements:
• Selected as the Operations Division’s Representative on the ‘Argos Direct’ business development board. Managing both the tactical and formulating strategic developments in the 5-year corporate plan for this crucial emerging home shopping market.

• Designed and implemented a successful business plan across the Region resulting in the highest turnover and profit contribution across the group.

• Chaired the group business review focussing on strategic issues relating to Superstore Services for inclusion into the five-year corporate plan.


Northern Area Field Manager – Argos p.l.c. March – Sept. 1993

Managed the integration of the Superstore concept and operation into the mainstream ‘traditional’ chain of stores for a newly formed area along the M62 corridor. Operational and financial control for the largest group of stores in the company.

Achievements:
• Achieved the highest level of profit contribution of any area in the business.

• Successfully gained very rapid promotion to Regional Manager.


Northern Superstore Controller – Argos p.l.c. 1990 – 1993

Operational control and accountability of the northern half of the UK for the Argos Superstore concept.

Achievements:
• Achieved the highest sales increase of any region in the company in 1992.

• Reduced costs to below 1989 levels to significantly enhance profitability.


District Manager – Woolworths (Kingfisher p.l.c.) 1989 – 1990

Managed the operational and financial performance of all the stores throughout Manchester, Cheshire and North Derbyshire.

Achievements:
• Built the district to become the top-performing area for the year 1989/90 in all product categories.


Store Operations Controller – Kidstore Ltd. 1988 - 1989
New Store Development Manager 1987 - 1988

Selected from the whole of the mainstream business (c. 900+ managers) to work in the development team setting up a new retailing concept in the children’s market. Managed all the operational aspects of the store development programme through the design and build stage to full trading status.

Achievements:
• Rapidly promoted to Store Operations Controller responsible for the four new development retail outlets and a further six satellite operations.


Store and Satellite Manager – Woolworths p.l.c. 1984 – 1987
Store Manager 1980 - 1984
Assistant Store Manager/Trainee 1975 – 1980

Education

Education and Qualifications:

Kettering Grammar School 1968 – 1975

‘S’ Levels English Literature and Economics.
‘A’ Levels English Literature, Economics and Religious Knowledge.
‘O’ Levels Passes in nine subjects.

Cranfield Business School and Henley Management Centre: a series of programmes based around Leadership, Management Development and Teambuilding.

Cambridge Management Centre: Successfully completed a ‘Management Through The Looking Glass’ fast-track development programme for Kingfisher high flyers.

NLP – qualified practitioner.

Skills

IT Literate

Languages

English

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