These esteemed awards, which recognise the work of the UKís best Interim Managers, were the third to be sponsored by PRAXIS executives on assignment. The awards ceremony was held at a prestigious luncheon at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, last Friday ñ September 10th and was attended by the finalists, winners and representatives from their nominating companies as well as other industry leaders.
More than 500 companies ñ many from the FTSE 100 as well as public sector organisations ñ were invited to nominate an Interim Manager who had made a significant contribution to their business within the last 12 months.
Awards were made within five functional categories as well as the overall award for the Interim Manager of the Year 2004.
The overall winner of the Interim Manager of the Year 2004 was: - Bernard Horsford for his role as ñ Interim Project Manager for the Crown Prosecution Service.
Bernard Horsford and Mary Moore
Bernard was engaged to project manage the 2004 staff survey for the Crown Prosecution Service. He achieved some tight deadlines due to his excellent organisational skills and knowledge of research and statistics. His appetite for work meant that with his spare capacity he then went on to complete additional pieces of work around diversity and equality issues, which have had a considerable impact on CPS Business Objectives.
Mary Moore ñ Head of HR Policy Development and Special Projects for the Crown Prosecution Service said of Bernard ìHe made an enormous impact on the delivery of work within my team in a comparatively short time. He was outstanding ñ the perfect Interim Managerî.
Bernard was no stranger to these awards since last year he collected an award as the HR Interim Manager of the Year. This time he was nominated for his role as project manager, illustrating how versatile and flexible the best Interims can be.
Bernard received the award and a substantial cheque made payable to the charity of his choice which was the ëSickle Cell Societyí.
In the category of HR Interim of the Year, the winner was:
Andrew Mander ñ who was Interim HR Manager at Mondi Hypac Ltd
Mondi Hypac is the largest cardboard packaging plant in Europe and prior to Andrewís appointment, there had been limited HR Support. As a result there was a real need for someone to grab hold of HR and build confidence in the function. Andrew made a significant impact on the business in the reduction of absenteeism and in his work to develop an employee consultation processes which will begin to change corporate culture. Mondi Hypac now has a permanent HR and training team in place and Andrew has successfully handed over a function that has credibility and impact within the business.
Andrew Mander
The winner of the Finance Interim Manager of the Year category was - David Moore ñ Interim Finance Director for Spicers in Germany
David joined Spicers Germany at a time when there was a need to bring the business back under sound financial control. He quickly gained the confidence of the German management team and the finance department and working throughout in his fluent German was able to drive through a culture change within the business.
Robert Baldrey ñ European Finance and IT Director for Spicers Ltd said of David
ìWithout Davidís input Spicers Germany would not have made the progress that they did in the last financial year. His overall contribution was outstanding. I would recommend David to anyone looking for a hands-on operational FD who can hit the ground running and make a real difference to a companyî.
David Moore and Patrique Habboo
Jayne Chace who was Interim Chief Marketing Officer for the GSM Association is this yearís winner of the Interim Sales & Marketing Manager of the Year.
Jayne operated not only at Board level but right through the organisation. Her open, collaborative leadership style enabled her to motivate her colleagues and team and the two projects she undertook had a big impact on the bottom line.
Julian Bishop HR Director describes Jayne as an outstanding example of best practice Interim Management.
Jayne Chace
The Interim General Manager of the Year for 2004 was Frans van de Schootbrugge ñ Interim Operations Manager for NSK Bearings in Tilberg.
Frans was appointed to assist in the turnaround of an under performing part of the business and he was required to be hands-on very quickly in order to drive and motivate his team. Frans formed excellent communication links, focused the team and improved cost, quality and logistics. In nine months the business was transformed from ailing to well managed, with consistent performance.
Frans van de Schootbrugge
The final category winner was the Interim Project Manager of the Year won by Jimmy Garnier working for a global manufacturing company.
Jimmy led a complete review of operating processes, to prepare for a significant growth strategy for the next three years. All Jimmyís recommendations were accepted by the Board and he has received plaudits from both the MD and the Chairman of the company.
Jimmy made a significant contribution, maintaining focus and momentum at a time of considerable change in the business.
Jimmy Garnier
Patrique Habboo, Managing Director of PRAXIS said during his introductory speech
ìThis yearís event is the largest and widest reaching so far. Over 500 Chief Executive Officers, HR Directors and Finance Directors were invited to nominate, in addition 3500 professional Interim Managers were offered the opportunity to include self-sourced assignments - a truly representative sample of our Industry.
Interim Management is firmly established as a powerful, flexible and valuable executive resource option, available to organisations throughout the UK and indeed Europe. A whole industry has developed around this offering, with the market forecast to grow to billion per annum in the UK alone.
Each year as the industry grows and develops, the levels of professionalism, commitment to excellence and added value benefits that Interim Management can bring are experienced by more and more organisations, both in the private and public sector.
PRAXIS executives on assignment and our fellow IM intermediaries, as well as our Trade Association, the IMA, play an important and integral part in this process of continuous development. However, it is the dedication, commitment, passion and expertise of the Interim Managers themselves, which ultimately is the driving force of our Industry.
It is they, who in often difficult circumstances, turn Companies around from loss to profit, who win new multi-million pound contracts, who lead and drive projects to successful conclusions and who manage change successfully, building platforms for future growthî
Interim Manager of the Year Awards 2004
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