Les Thomas joined Style Group in March 2005 having previously provided consultancy services to the Group.
Les joined in order to implement a number of departmental change programmes. At that time, it was indicated to Les that there was a possibility of a permanent senior role as part of Style Group’s succession plan. This option is no longer appropriate and we have mutually agreed that now id the right time for les to move on.
During his time with Style Group, Les has proved to be a valuable asset who can be dropped into any situation. He can be relied upon to stabilise a troubled situation and to set out both long term and immediately required development programmes that invariably being improvements in customer service and financial performance.
He is clearly a very experienced manager who is able to operate in Finance, in Operations and he can form the vital bridge between the two. His past projects and troubleshooting roles has given him the ability to bring financial awareness to operations staff of all levels and commercial and operational awareness to finance teams.
Les has undertaken a wide range of projects and line management roles during his time at Style Group. This has included departmental change programmes, new IT developments, the introduction of an operational audit function and the development of enhanced budgeting and forecasting models.
Most recently, Les has operated within our manufacturing subsidiary helping to design, support and drive a large scale performance improvement programme there. He developed more sophisticated operational performance reporting systems and he restructured the supply chain activities there. Les has enthusiastically supported the introduction of Lean 6 Sigma principles at this subsidiary and he will complete the Green Belt accreditation before his assignment comes to an end.
Earlier this year, Style Group faced a major crisis when a key supplier went into administration. A small team was rapidly brought together (including Les) and they bought three businesses from the Receiver, ran these three businesses in the very short term and then sold them on to third parties (all of this intense activity being completed within a few weeks). During this phase, Les’ experience and professionalism (he showed total flexibility and commitment) was vital in achieving a successful outcome for the business.
To summarise, Les has made vital contributions in all of the tasks he has been asked to do during his time with Style. He is able to work autonomously within an agreed framework. He takes a logical approach and he takes the time to communicate what is going to happen and why. His work ethic is first class. He can act at both a strategical and at an operational level. He has the confidence to voice his opinion even if this is likely to bring him into conflict. He works to very high standards and he insists that others adopt a similar approach.
Steve Birmingham Former CEO, Safestyle UK
