How did you get your start in the BSC industry?
I was working in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and one of my clients was a building service contractor (BSC) company called Servest. I advised Servest on a couple of acquisitions and they subsequently offered me a global role to head up M&A internally for them, overseeing acquisitions in the United Kingdom, Europe and Africa. I joined the company in 2012.
Why did you decide to join WFBSC?
To network with other companies, get insights into industry trends and to help navigate through challenges facing the industry.
Can you discuss your journey with the OCS Group?
After a few years with Servest, I progressed to financial director and then in 2018 I was appointed CEO, shortly after the acquisition of Servest by the French-based global facilities management company Atalian. In 2022, Atalian agreed to sell the UK and Asia-Pacific (APAC) operations to Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), who also acquired OCS and merged the two businesses. Once the deal was completed, I was appointed CEO of the combined businesses in the UK and Ireland.
As CEO, what are your goals for the organization in the next five to 10 years?
We want to disrupt the industry, increasing our market share by offering something different to the market. Focusing on developing our people, bringing innovation to our customers and shaping our environmental, social and corporate (ESG) agenda. The plan is to double the size of our business over the next five years, which will be achieved through strong levels of organic growth and plenty of M&A.
What career accomplishments are you most proud of?
I am most proud of our growth journey since joining Servest in 2012 when the business had an annual revenue of £20m. That business grew to £800m at the point we merged with OCS and today we have revenues of £1.6bn in the UK and Ireland, so quite a transformation!
What is the best piece of advice you have received throughout your career?
Surround yourself with the best people, build a team of people around you who are stronger than you in their specialisms as you’ll achieve much greater things together.