people technolog siness Issue 35 In this issue Exploring the secrets of success 2 Business Insight GS-insight discusses some of the latest trends and Graham Charlton, CFO, Softcat opportunities in the international technology industry, the importance of company culture in business 5 Consulting Insight success and much more … Martin Smith, Executive Director, Sheffield Haworth Welcome to the 35th edition of GS-insight, fit and thereby de-risk the hiring process. Consulting Solutions the magazine of international technology Understandably, investors and Boards are sector Executive Search specialists Gillamor very keen to have a robust assessment of Stephens, part of Sheffield Haworth, the global the strengths and risks associated with 6 International Insight talent consulting and leadership advisory management teams and of their capability to Kelly Kinnard, VP Talent, firm. As a recruitment team, we are fortunate grow, change and adapt to achieve business Battery Ventures to work with companies at all stages of organ- objectives. isational and business development; from This issue of GS-insight explores a wide 8 Investment Insight university “spin-outs” requiring CEOs to help range of themes with leaders across our commercialise “bleeding edge” technology, Mark Boggett, CEO, industry sector. We discuss the importance Seraphim Space Capital through to privately owned and VC/PE of company culture and business growth with funded small-mid size businesses seeking Graham Charlton of Softcat and Russell Sloan the leaders to drive organic and acquisitive of Kainos, two of the most successful and 10 Non-Executive growth/internationalisation strategies to the fastest growing publicly listed technology Insight larger corporate entities hiring executives to businesses. While insight into the positive Chris Stone, Plural lead large scale business transformation and challenges facing UK headquartered Chairman growth. In the UK, it is very pleasing to see technology “unicorns” is provided by Sophie the geographical spread of executive oppor- Unicorn Insight Fromont of Graphcore and Ross Seychell of 12 tunities with multiple assignments at present Transferwise. International perspective is Sophie Froment, SVP in Manchester, Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge as given by Kelly Kinnard, VP of Talent at Battery People, Graphcore well as London and Thames Valley. Outside Ventures, who helps us understand the of the UK, we are very active in the German competitive market for leadership talent in and the Nordic regions, where there are 14 Growth Insight Silicon Valley and other technology hotspots many well-funded technology “start-ups”. in the USA. The new frontier of investing in Russell Sloan, Digital At the time of writing, the UK is still mired Services Director, Kainos space technology companies is explored with with Brexit uncertainty but this has not had Mark Boggett of Seraphim Space Capital, any noticeable impact on executive hiring the only space-tech focussed venture fund 16 Entrepeneur Insight activity in the technology sector; we are anywhere on the planet. A down to earth view Des Lekerman, busier than at any point in recent years, with on the opportunity in the UK mid-market for CEO, TIG the market for executive talent being very cloud managed services is discussed with competitive and as a by-product of this we entrepreneur Des Lekerman, while Ian Spence are recording compensation levels trending of Megabuyte, the leading technology 18 Social Insight higher. While for certain roles there is often analysts, challenges the current hype around Alex Stephany, CEO, Beam a strong preference to hire individuals with AI. The role of interim management in the Foundation proven experience and track record, those technological revolution is outlined by our that have “been there and done it”, we are colleague Martin Smith. Plural Non-Executive seeing that some clients are more interested Chairman Chris Stone provides advice for 20 FinTech Insight in hiring the high potential candidate who succeeding as a Non-executive and contrasts Ross Seychell, may not immediately match every criteria between PLC and PE boards. Finally, Alex Chief People Officer, but, importantly, has the core skills combined Stephany of Beam, talks about social enter- Transferwise with the right attitude, ambition and desire to prise and the emerging “Tech for Good” sector make a positive impact and prove themselves that is helping society’s most vulnerable. 22 MegaBuyte Insight in a challenging role. To support this activity, Ian Spence, CEO, we are often working with business psycholo- I hope you enjoy this issue and I welcome your Megabuyte gists to help in the assessment of an individ- feedback ual’s future potential, culture and value Steve Morrison 24 Services Insight Insight into Gillamor Steve Morrison, Managing Director, Gillamor Stephens [email protected] Stephens GS-insight can be viewed and downloaded from www.gillamorstephens.com For more information on Sheffield Haworth, please visit www.sheffieldhaworth.com tel: +44 (0) 203 457 4060 www.gillamorstephens.com 1 BUSINESS INSIGHT The Cultural Route to Success Graham Charlton joined IT solutions and services provider Softcat as CFO in 2015, taking the business to IPO within ten months. Here he tells GS-insight what first attracted him to the company and why he believes its unique culture and operational style is one that sets Softcat apart from many other businesses. the business through the next phase the period) propelled the business The Start of Something of growth. By this time the business to a very profitable £600m turnover. Different had been renamed ‘Softcat’, and It’s important to realise that all of this When I joined Softcat, I knew very in came Martin Hellawell who was growth was entirely organic – up to little about the industry, but I was to be Chief Executive for the next the present day Softcat has never immediately drawn not so much 13 years. Martin had already had a acquired another business nor taken to what the business did, but to its very successful career as part of the on any debt. The reason for going strong, unique sense of identity and leadership team at Computacenter, public rather than executing a trade its vibrant operating environment. and he knew exactly what was sale or selling to private equity was After meeting some of the people I needed to unlock the true potential because Peter loved and still loves knew it was the right place for me. of Softcat. He also had the charisma the company and its culture. He didn’t and strength of character to blend want to lose the strong identity he’d Softcat was founded 26 years ago by in perfectly with and enhance what created; an identity that has been Peter Kelly. Peter is a larger than life Peter had begun. So over the next 13 fundamental to Softcat’s success. character with immense enthusiasm, years both Martin and Peter (Peter The job of the team running Softcat drive and energy. He was convinced gradually stepping further away over post IPO has been to stay true to that that there had to be more to corporate life than the grey world of business he’d experienced in his early career. He wanted to bring his own personality and beliefs to the world of work; to create an environment that was fun and exciting to work in – basically somewhere people would enjoy coming to each day. I think the idea to get into software resale (the business was initially called ‘The Software Catalogue’) was something a close friend of Peter’s in the private equity world first mooted. That initial idea, Peter’s enthusiasm and creativity, and a great group of people took the business to £50 million turnover over the next 10 years or so. At which point Peter considered selling the company and although that didn’t happen, he realised that new leadership was required to take “I was immediately drawn not so much to what the business did, but to its strong, unique sense of identity and its vibrant operating environment.” Graham Charlton, CFO, Softcat 2 +44 (0) 20 3457www.gillamorstephens.com 4060 www.gillamorstephens.com+44 (0) 203 457 4060 BUSINESS INSIGHT very special heritage and just keep While it sounds easy and obvious, going. “People often ask me creating that kind of culture in my experience is very rare indeed. I’ve Fast Forward about the secret of seen pockets of it before joining At the time I joined, the mentality Softcat’s success, and Softcat, but never across an entire of the business had been to grow organisation (and we’re spread in as lean a fashion as possible, so while the answer is easy across 8 offices these days). Bringing the development of the back-office it’s also hard for people in large numbers of graduates helps. functions had lagged behind the They’re malleable and looking for development of the sales engine. who haven’t worked leadership and role models, and once When the time came to commit to the here to really get it. It’s they’ve grasped Softcat’s culture flotation, it was essential to enhance and adopted the right attitude, they the infrastructure of the business to culture and attitude.” set the standard for those coming in face the rigours of public life and all behind them. of the compliance obligations that We teach our graduates to play the put the work in, you will get it done. brings, and most importantly to long game. They have a revenue The other side, telling the company’s establish a solid footing for further target from the minute they join equity story, is something that the growth. Part of that development the sales team. They’re given no involved finding a CFO and quite management team have to take accounts to trade with, they’re cold understandably the business set out ownership of.