CEO Today United Kingdom Awards

47 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today United Kingdom Awards 2019 FINANCIAL SERVICES SIMON PACKHAM CEO of Melrose Industries Plc FIRM PROFILE Melrose buys good manufacturing businesses with strong fundamentals whose performance can be improved. Melrose finances its acquisitions using a low level of leverage, improves the businesses by a mixture of investment and changed management focus, sells them and returns the proceeds to shareholders Buy • Good manufacturing business whose performance can be improved. • Use low (public market) leverage. • Melrose management are substantial equity investors. Improve • Free management from bureaucratic central structures. • Change management focus, incentivise well. • Set strategy and targets and sign off investments. • Drive operational improvements. • Invest in the business. • Focus on profitability and operating cash generation - not growth for the sake of growth. Sell • Commercially choose the right time to sell, often between 3-5 years but flexible. • Return value to shareholders from significant disposals. The Melrose approach The improvements made by Melrose vary depending on the needs of the business but the common theme for all businesses is the implementation of the Melrose approach: 1) Giving ownership to the divisions 2) Appropriately incentivising the management teams 3) Freeing businesses from central bureaucracy 4) Quick decision making 5) Ready access to funds for capital expenditure, R&D and expansion projects Melrose owns manufacturing and industrial businesses with leading market positions operating in a number of different geographical regions and sectors. www.melroseplc.net ABOUT SIMON PACKHAM Appointed as Chief Executive on 9 May 2012, having previously served as Chief Operating Officer from May 2003. Skills and experience: Simon provides widespread expertise in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, strategy and operations. Simon qualified as a solicitor in 1986, before moving to Wassall PLC in 1990, where he became an executive Director in 1999. Between October 2000 and May 2003, Simon worked for the equity finance division of The Royal Bank of Scotland where he was involved in several high profile transactions.