I have worked for a number of
different types of telecoms equipment businesses and information technology
companies under various circumstances. These include:
·
Interconnect Ltd, a VC-owned business, and which
was taken over by Securicor plc, a FTSE100 company
and a telecoms equipment manufacturer, reseller and maintainer that achieved a
couple of development firsts. I was instrumental in merging Interconnect Ltd
into the Securicor plc subsidiary, ultimately heading
finance in the combined business.
·
TTML
was a telecoms equipment reseller and maintainer, where I was head of finance.
·
Automatic Minibar Systems Ltd was a joint venture between the
German subsidiary of the Swedish-quoted Electrolux and the Swiss Minibar AG, a
company owned by a German high net worth individual. The business supplied the
hotel industry with computer command and controlled minibars for guestrooms. I
was head of finance of this business, but also ran finance for three other
Minibar AG businesses in the UK, an electronics manufacturer, an equipment
reseller and an equipment maintenance business (although there was no group
structure for these). During this time I implemented Cognition in the business
and also in the US-based subsidiary.
·
Bookham Technology plc was one of the “dot com boom”
businesses and manufactured the devises for send light along telephone lines.
My assignment was to integrate the £12m turnover optical components
business acquired from Marconi, and during this time, I implemented both Impact
Award and SAP.
·
Digipos
Group is a reseller of point-of-sale command-and-control computer systems for
retailers. My assignment was to integrate a newly acquired business, the
maintenance business of Real Time Controls plc, into
the group. During this time, I implemented Navision (now Microsoft Nav) and the company was refinanced through VC’s
following the withdrawal from the business of one of its owners.
·
Torex Retail plc
was a £75m turnover AIM-listed business, and a competitor to Digipos. My assignment was to integrated
three of its operating businesses and to relocate its finance functions onto
one site. During this time, the assignment changed to being UK financial
controller, with specific attention being paid to cash management, since the
business was in a fair amount of financial distress. Following the intervention
of the Serious Fraud Office and City of London police (which happened after my
time) this business has been broken up and its operating activities are now
owned by the VC firm Cerberus.
·
Following
a period when it had outsourced its IT business, J
Sainsbury plc opted to bring it back in-house. My
assignment concerned its capital projects and I set up the controls, reporting
and procedures that were necessary to support its project management office
(PMO).