colleagues who have the same ethics as I do. This is particularly true of the board of directors, who are custodians of the values and drive the success of the company. Each one of those board members was a key appointment at the time they joined us and with each one I knew immediately that they were perfect for the role and perfect for me. I interviewed many people for each role, and some had fabulous skills and experience, but something in me wasn’t totally sure of the fit until I sat down with the people who finally joined. Something clicked that told me without doubt that they were the perfect fit. I have been proven correct in each case. This is incredibly important to the continues growth and success of Neuven and I think is the same for any organisation. If you can get the senior team right and they reflect your values and drive, then this will cascade through their recruitment and ensure you imbue a great culture in the company by engaging with people who ‘get it’ and want to live the values. The colleagues you have are the foundation of your business. That is a key lesson that I have learned over the years. In what ways would you say your career skills, in leadership and other areas, have developed since you came to Neuven? It is interesting to reflect on how I have changed over time when I look back on my career and, most recently, my time at Neuven. I guess you are shaped by the situations you find yourself in. When starting a company with no revenue you are a very different leader to the one you are when you have a fabulous team of colleagues and a thriving business. I think my leadership style has softened over the years as I have had to develop a style that encourages others to take the initiative and support them in trusting their instincts. At the outset, I was directly involved in all aspects of Neuven from sales through to account management and writing our contracts. As time has passed and we have developed departments within the company to take care of all aspects of our service, I have had to understand that in many of those areas, I now have people with better skills than me to execute their area of responsibility. Thus, my leadership style has become more about encouraging them and giving them the space and clarity to perform at their best. Can you tell us about what led you to Neuven and how you prepared to take on the role of chief executive? Neuven already existed as a dormant incorporated company at the point where I became involved. Due to my prior experience leading companies of a similar type, it was a good match for me to take the leadership role of CEO and shape how the company would grow. The initial decision for me to take the challenge was encouraged by a previous client, who urged me to build a company that gave them and the wider market an alternative to what already existed. I basically started building the company from scratch with a few highly talented and loyal colleagues, who are the foundation on which the success of Neuven has been built. I took the role of CEO at Neuven because I saw the opportunity to take the good and bad from what I had seen in previous organsiations and build a company on strong values that was a force for good for clients, suppliers and colleagues alike. From regular colleague surveys, I am proud to say we appear to have achieved that aim. How did your previous experience in leadership positions help during this process? I think that one of the benefits of starting Neuven after having many years in senior leadership roles was being able to take all the positives from previous organisations and incorporate them into the new venture. This helped to ensure that Neuven learned from negative prior experiences to deliver a positive environment for our colleagues, clients and suppliers. I felt that in the past I had seen a concentration on client satisfaction to the exclusion of everything else. Obviously, whilst this remains the barometer of a great business it is equally important to have the same focus on colleagues and suppliers. I feel that if you can achieve all three, you have the ingredients for remarkable success. Of course, we do not get it right every time. However, I am confident that even when we fall short, it isn’t for a lack of striving to do the right thing the right way. The single best thing I have done since starting the Neuven journey is recruit dedicated, high-quality CEO Today Global Awards 2024 - UNITED KINGDOM - - 35 -
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