Time to Turnaround
As I write this my beloved West Ham are struggling in the Premier League and many fear that relegation is on the cards. BUT – like any true fan you have to believe their they can turn it around.
With this not-so-subtle link, whilst we may not be able to offer West Ham a manager (or players) to turn the fortunes around, we do work with a number of speakers who can offer their insights into turning around a business – so if you looking for a speaker on business turnaround these are a few we would recommend.
Ellis Watson is a business leader whose varied career from Celador, Syco, and the Mirror Group to name a few, make him a respected and thought-provoking business and leadership speaker. He was most recently the Chairman and CEO of DC Thomson, the Scottish media group, but stepped down in 2020 after 10 years with the organisation.
In many of his roles, he has helped turn the fortunes of the brand around or led them through periods of great success.
At the First Group, Ellis Watson turned around the fortunes of Greyhound across the Americas, bringing in better service, and changing the culture of low morale. As CEO of Simon Cowell’s Syco Corporation, he took an array of record labels and programme formats, including the X Factor and Got Talent formats, to international success, while at DC Thomson he steered the business into a more resilient organisation by transforming the group’s business models, brands and commercial direction.
Recognised as ‘the man who fixes businesses’ Kevin Gaskell has an impressive track record in building and leading successful companies. As CEO of Porsche, Lamborghini, and BMW, Kevin led hugely successful turnarounds.
Today he remains actively involved in numerous companies worldwide, as both an investor and founder, including the UK’s fastest-growing alternative fibre network provider.
Kevin Gaskell’s entrepreneurial approach to business has earned him numerous accolades. He was recognised as one of the UK’s Top 40 leaders reflecting his exceptional ability to inspire teams to transform companies and achieve extraordinary results. His focus on developing innovative strategies and building high-performance cultures has been instrumental in driving business growth and success.
Py Gerbeau is a French businessman who has completed nine successful business turnarounds and is a keynote speaker on business turnaround, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
During his career, he has completed nine successful business turnarounds. As Vice-President of Park Operations and Attractions at Euro Disney, PY was credited with turning it into Europe¹s biggest visitor attraction, after its difficult start in the 1990s. Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company at the time, recommended PY to Tony Blair and he was subsequently appointed Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome in London in February 2000. With struggling visitor numbers, negative publicity and major financial problems, PY turned it around, resulting in visitor numbers of over 6 million, successfully reviving the company¹s fortunes.
In June 2019, PY embarked on a new venture, as CEO of London Resort Company Holdings, a proposed multi-billion entertainment park in Kent, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, the BBC and ITV.
Bill Grimsey is a business speaker and retailer with 45 years active experience. During his career he held senior Director positions at Budgens and Tesco before becoming the Managing Director of Park’n’Shop Ltd, Hong Kong’s leading Supermarket Chain. On his return to the UK he held three more leadership posts, CEO of Wickes plc, CEO of the Big Food Group (Iceland and Booker) and CEO of Focus DIY Ltd.
Bill has written the book, Sold Out ‘Who really killed the High Street’, held various Non Executive Director posts, lead the team to publish The Grimsey Review ‘An alternative future for the High Street’ in 2013 and regularly speaks publicly and to Local Authorities about the High Street in the 21 st Century.
Kate Hardcastle MBE, a.k.a. The Customer Whisperer is the UK’s leading ‘go-to’ business expert and speaker on consumer insight for National TV & Media.
She has also presented & provided expertise for leading consumer shows Rip Off Britain (BBC 1), Watchdog (BBC 1) What Britain Bought (Channel 4) Battlefront (Channel 4) and Inside Out (BBC 1) as well as being the consumer champion for hit ITV 1 consumer show – Eat Shop Save.
Kate Hardcastle was honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018 and was the recipient of the Prime Ministers Point of Light Award. She has been celebrated with 26 National & International commerce awards including Business Woman of the Year, Inspiration Award and Influencer of the Year.
Her work is respected globally, projects have included the successful turnaround of ailing retail brands & shopping centre, the creation of powerful consumer brands & consultant to oversee business redevelopment, restructure & takeovers.
As always if we can help with any enquiries please do contact us on enquiries@scampspeakers.co.uk