To continue our series about leading in a crisis, PSFI partner Ebba Bahl sits down with Chris Fowler (former COO at BT) and Paul Ringham (former Commercial Director for BT) to bring the client’s voice to the conversation, as we continue to think through what leaders should be focused on in these challenging economic times.
Chris and Paul, together with Ebba, share their insights from a client’s perspective on the importance of keeping close to your clients, how to communicate well, and why being brave might just be the test of true leadership.
Chris spent over 20 years in various roles in BT including COO for the entire legal, governance and compliance function and more latterly the General Counsel for its Technology Division. Chris is currently COO at Rio Tinto.
Paul has worked as the Corporate Finance Director and also Commercial Director at BT and most recently Commercial Director for Viridor Waste Management. Paul was a member of the executive team credited with turning round the Global Services Division at BT following a £1.6billion write off. Paul was also a lead executive during the sale of Viridor to KKR and KKR’s subsequent divestment program of the non-core assets. Paul is currently a freelance consultant.
Chris and Paul are part of PSFI’s group of Client Executives, a carefully selected group of senior clients, available for partners to work with to practice their client relationship and leadership skills. Our Client Executives are GC’s, C-suite executives and buyers of professional services. They are perfect for creating a safe and stretching space to rehearse critical conversations. Their years of experience of working with professional services clients can be relied upon to give insightful and credible feedback as to what clients really want. For more information about our Client Executives, see here.
Author
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