Emerging from a project..

For those who know me, life has been pretty busy for me over the past 12 months and I am just emerging from a project with The Holocaust Centre and Aegis Trust. I am a trustee with both these charities and have been since 2004. In fact, I left my career in corporate management to provide the flexibility to support what is a remarkable, family-led, non-profit organisation. I am truly humbled by the work they do and the strength of character of the family - it has been a real privilege to work alongside them.

This was a team effort - with Paul, Frank and Frank, Mike in parts and also Harry involved with me in some way shape or another. Working on a transformational project in a family-led non-profit requires a certain amount of care and sensitivity, but also a strong drive to overcome inertia, which is common within many small organisations.

It has been pretty full-on and if you have wondered if I still exit, well I do - and life is returning to normal for me! Expect to hear a bit more in the future.
Glen

Business restructuring and strategy

This week's edition of Construction News features an interview with Mike Saunders, pictured above, on some of the lessons when undertaking mergers.

In January this year Pegler and Yorkshire Fittings merged to become Pegler Yorkshire Group Ltd. Mike Saunders is the Group MD, appointed at the end of 2006. HobsonFord was asked to help facilitate a new strategy as the two businesses started the integration process back in 2007.

Strategy becomes vitally important following a major restructure, such as a merger, an MBO, a major acquisition or when a business is reorganised. Initially the focus is upon the restructure or integration and issues around strategy can become overlooked, but at a cost.

In the case of the Pegler Yorkshire Group this proved to be a very effective integration tool. We used the Argenti strategic planning system, which is a tried and tested method for developing a corporate plan. It's beauty is its simplicity, focus on practical outcomes and because it enables ownership of the strategy by the new management team.

You can read a mini-case study from our website.

HobsonFord Welcomes Colin Marshall

We are pleased to welcome Colin to our market insights team. He brings a wealth of knowledge across a wide range of technical aspects in building and construction. He has over 30 years experience in the building industry working as a Technical Manager in a major Building Products plc.

Colin started his career with a HND in Building Studies Construction Technology and then held a number of senior technical posts within building products. Colin has an in depth knowledge of UK building construction methods, building regulations, design codes and sustainability issues in the built environment, including BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes.

Welcome to the new blog of HobsonFord

HobsonFord Associates welcomes Frank Gaiger to our team. Frank joins us from Tarmac Topblock, where he held a number of senior positions over several years. Prior to this he was FD of Tarmac Brick.

Frank is now working as part of a small team from HobsonFord at The Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire. This is an educational centre which has around 30,000 visitors each year, mainly school children. Frank is working at the Centre as an Interim Chief Operating Officer. He is supported by Frank Wright, who is providing support on HR and health & safety management. I am helping to co-ordinate the project.

A warm welcome to Frank, it is good to have him on board.