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VIVALDA needed a different direction . Overall , the strategy was successful , and the spread of business was good , especially in terms of organic growth . However , I got the feeling that after so many years I ’ d become too close to it . It was time for a different viewpoint from somebody
coming in with a more helicopter view and corporate approach to the way we worked daily . That ’ s where Andy came in . He ’ s restructured the business and taken it into a more professional domain .”
Best practice
Andy is ushering in VIVALDA ’ s latest chapter as the company ’ s Chief Executive Officer . “ It ’ s been a huge transition for Peter and Ben , and the business as a whole . They worked for a long time as owners , running the business for themselves . It ’ s their baby , something they built over 20 plus years . It ’ s a massive responsibility to have it passed over to me and I really take my hat off to them . They ’ ve successfully stepped through different phases of growth , various economic challenges , and huge changes in working culture . It ’ s a great testament to their skill because so many businesses falter during those periods of transition . A lot of the time people hold on too long ,” he asserts .
“ The business they started , with two people in an office in London , requires a very different set of skills compared to running a business with over 150 people across ten different sites , which is where we find ourselves today . Peter founded the business ; he built it from the ground up . Ben took it to the next level through an accelerated period of growth , and frankly , I couldn ’ t have done what either of them did . I can ’ t drive a
warehouse truck , operate a saw , or form
a business from nothing — but what I can do is run the right systems and processes at scale . I take best practice and increase collaboration throughout the broader company structure .”
VIVALDA now stands ready to face the future as the UK and Ireland ’ s number one supplier of cladding panels , building boards , and fabrication services . “ Ben and Peter have given me a platform to do what I do best . Now , we ’ re lucky enough to be part of a profitable , cash generative business that ’ s been taken into its next chapter . Everything that came before was necessary in bringing us here , it ’ s been a 25-year relay race , and I ’ m proud to hold the baton ,” Andy concludes . ■
www
. vivalda . co . uk
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