Press Releases - Click Darker blue headings below to expand item
| Interimwomen.com appoints new director to boost growth and development |
| October 31st 2011 - Interimwomen, the business forum for women working as interim managers, established by interim provider Russam GMS, is delighted to  welcome Diane Morris as its new Director.Diane brings to InterimWomen over 20 years' experience in organising and promoting business and women's networks both in the UK and Asia. She was recently the Chairman of the judging panel for the European Union Women Inventors and Innovators Awards. She is the immediate past President of The International Alliance for Women, a global umbrella network of women's organisations, a former Chair of the LSE Female Alumni Network and past President of City Women's Network.. Diane is an accomplished marketing and advertising sales professional working for IPC Women's Magazines and Gillette in the UK. She spent many years in Japan, where she was appointed advertising manager to Japan International Journal. She also set up her own advertising sales agency in Tokyo working with clients BBC World and Time Inc. While based in Singapore, she was appointed Regional Director ( SE Asia) for DNM strategies, organisers of the BusinessWeek conferences in Asia. On returning to the UK, Diane founded her own marketing and sales consultancy specialising in conferences and speakers for the Asian market. Diane will lead Interimwomen with the aim of growing its membership and promoting the organisation to women working as interims and those considering it as a career option. Charles Russam, Chairman of Russam GMS, says, "Diane is highly regarded in the City and in business circles for promoting the advancement of women to senior management appointments. She also has a wealth of experience in developing women's networks and will be a tremendous asset to Interimwomen in its next exciting phase of development." Diane says, "I am delighted to join Interimwomen as its new Director. Interim management is a growth industry and I am excited about the potential development opportunities. Our goal is to attract a greater number of women into interim management and provide them with the support they need to get established and achieve business success. We are already working on an exciting events programme for 2012." In addition to a Masters in Communications, Advertising and Marketing from the College of Distributive Trades (now London College of Communication), Diane also has a Bsc Econ(Hons) in International History from The London School of Economics. She has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London, and is an active member of the Worshipful Company of Marketors and the Worshipful Company of World Traders. About Interimwomen.com • Set up in 2008, Interimwomen.com is the very first forum website for women working as Interim Managers, as well as aspiring Interim Managers. • It aims to promote Interim Management as a career choice for women and to promote women in Interim Management. • Interimwomen.com offers women working as Interims or those new to the industry a support network, careers advice and networking events. • Russam GMS, the leading mainstream provider of Interim Managers is the founding sponsor of Interimwomen Contact: Kathryn Hughes Tel: 020 32491072/07801 823 839 Email: Kathryn@kayakpr.co.uk |
| Business skills are needed to help university sector recover say Interim Managers |
| 22 September 2011 – Funding problems, skills shortages and poor commercial leadership are just some of the challenges currently facing UK universities according to a new survey of interim managers who work in the sector conducted by Russam GMS. Almost eight out of ten (78%) of interims questioned stated that the outlook for the sector had got worse over the past six months. 60% don't see the sector recovering any time soon, 30% were unsure and just 10% disagreed. Funding was cited as the top challenge. However, the interims also reported that many institutions are experiencing a skills shortage and that they lacked people with business experience and commercial skills. They said that universities were struggling with too few resources and yet recruitment has been put on hold in many areas according to 60% of respondents. Other problems noted were a lack of strategic planning and poor commercial leadership. John Wilson, head of universities at Russam GMS said, "There are multiple challenges facing universities currently – not least of all funding problems. One of the key themes that emerged from the research is that the sector has become highly competitive – especially for the newer universities, with students now acting like consumers particularly since the increase in tuition fees. "There is a clear need for many universities to become more commercial and adapt their business models if they are to attract the best students and have a sustainable future. In such a difficult climate, interim managers can be an affordable and flexible way to bring in people with commercial experience and the entrepreneurial skills to deliver change, help with strategic planning and business development and get things back on track, even on part time or temporary basis." About Russam GMS Ltd: Russam GMS is the longest established mainstream provider of Interim Managers in the UK with a 30 year industry track record and this year was awarded Best Interim Provider 2011 at the Recruitment Consultant awards and last year won 'Best Interim Recruitment Agency' at the Recruiter Awards for Excellence 2010. The company is a search-driven consultancy and has a data base of 12,000 Interims which is the most comprehensive working database and range of contacts within the UK Interim Management industry. It provides Interims across a wide range of disciplines to board level across a variety of sectors including financial services, manufacturing, central and local government, financial services, aerospace and defence, healthcare, universities, charity and not for profit sectors and the private equity and venture capital sectors. Russam GMS views the Interim Management Market more holistically and entrepreneurially than its competitors. It runs a unique Associates Programme for Interims which includes career advice, job news, events, training and its IND~EX Weekly newsletter to all its 12,000 registered Interim Managers. It has established www.Trustees-Unlimited.co.uk and also www.InterimWomen.com and has a growing number of JV arrangements with third parties building on its strong delivery capabilities across the broad Interim Management field. For further information please contact: Kathryn Hughes Kayak PR Tel: +44 (0)20 31426447/07801 823 839 Kathryn@kayakpr.co.uk |
| Why the new Agency Workers Regulations won’t affect interim managers |
| The Agency Workers Regulations will be implemented in the UK on 1st October 2011.The purpose of the regulations are to provide temporary agency workers with equal treatment in terms of basic working and employment conditions as permanent employees. The government’s stated intention is that workers who are genuinely self employed and in business on their own account will not be within scope of the Regulations. The Government’s stated its intention that workers who are genuinely in business on their own account (i.e. the genuinely self-employed) will not be within scope of the Regulations. Consequently, it is widely regarded by the legal community, together with representative bodies such as the Interim Management Association (IMA), that interim managers will not be in scope. Jason Atkinson, Chair of the IMA, said: “Despite some alarmist media stories on the potential impact, the latest data from our parent body – the REC - clearly supports the view that the AWR will be workable in most sectors, including high level interim management. It also confirms the crucial role that interim providers can play in helping clients to gear up for implementation and to manage potential risk factors." Adding to Atkinson’s comments, Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Professional Services at the REC said: “In most sectors, the impact will be limited and interim providers are already working with their clients to make new equal treatment measures work. However, any measures to streamline the way that the regulations are applied would of course be welcomed. “One realistic way forward would be for the Government to agree on an early ‘one-year’ review of the Regulations. This is something the REC has called for in recent discussions with Ministers.” |
| Businesses are hiring Again - The Interim market returns to growth |
| 26 July 2011 – The Interim Management market has returned to growth according to the latest 'Snapshot' survey of 11,000 Interim Managers from award-winning Interim Management Provider, Russam GMS. From January to June 2011, activity rose by 1.2% - a reversal of fortune compared with the 8% drop recorded in the six months to December 2010. Charles Russam, Chairman of Russam GMS comments, "There are grounds for optimism in Interim Management. A greater number of assignments are emerging in financial services and manufacturing and there is a rise in the number of assignments coming through Interim providers. This is a good sign of recovery because in the midst of a recession, clients are reluctant to spend money on recruitment to find candidates. The number of Interims on assignment in the public sector is unchanged as the bulk of the downsizing took place last year, although permanent headcount reductions have some way to go. The number of assignments out there is quite low and the report shows this is unchanged." |
| Russam GMS Crowned Best Interim Provider at the Recruitment Consultant Awards 2011 |
| 29 June 2011 - Russam GMS won the Best Interim Provider award at The Recruitment Consultant Industry awards 2011. This award follows the company's winning of Best Interim Recruitment Provider at the Recruiter awards last year. Russam GMS, the UK's longest established interim management provider, won the award as a result of its many initiatives such as Interim Women and Trustees Unlimited; strong business growth, commitment to quality search processes, and its genuine understanding of the interim management sector. To win, Russam GMS fended off tough competition from Green Park Interim & VMA Interim Performers. Charles Russam, Chairman of Russam GMS said, "We are delighted to win Best Interim Provider 2011 at the Recruitment Consultant awards. It is a great testament to the hard work of all the team at Russam GMS". "Our initiatives, such as Interim Women, Trustees Unlimited, Russam Business Mentors and our Associates Programme are all designed to provide Interims with the support they need to be the best in the business and get ahead in these challenging market conditions. We are delighted to be recognised for this by the industry." |
| Alan Horn Former CEO of The Interim Management Group joins Russam GMS to develop Entrepreneur Practice |
 18 May 2011 – Alan Horn, former CEO of The Interim Management Group (consisting of Albemarle, Walker-Cox and Armadillo in the UK and Management Angels in Germany) is joining Russam GMS, the award-winning Interim Management Provider, to play a key role in the development of the company's Entrepreneur practice. Alan's extensive CEO level experience in the Interim Management industry and in Private Equity will be used to expand Russam Ventures by introducing Interim Managers to Private Equity, Banks and other stakeholders for Transformation, Restructuring and Turnaround assignments. Alan will place these executives into some of the UK's largest multinational companies to undertake specific projects, as well as teams of experienced Interims into organisations in need of substantial and rapid transformation. Russam GMS Chairman, Charles Russam, says, "We are delighted Alan will be working with us to develop our Entrepreneur business. I have known him for many years as a highly respected and formidable competitor. We share similar values and a commitment to developing long term relationships with clients and candidates." "In the coming months, we anticipate a greater number of private equity, venture capital houses and banks will turn to the Interim Management Provider community to find creative solutions to the growth challenges confronting their portfolio businesses. Alan's experience in the private equity market will prove invaluable as we seek to place more Interims in needy but growing businesses that have significant levels of equity or debt from private equity houses or banks. With his proven business development experience, industry knowledge and contacts, we are confident we will achieve our business goals," he added. Over the past fifteen years, Horn turned Albemarle into the largest Interim Management Provider in the UK. During this time, he jointly established the Interim Management Association with Russam GMS in 1987 and he has also been extensively involved with the REC, primarily in legal and lobbying activities. Alan Horn comments, "Unlike some other providers, Russam GMS offers a broad range of specialist resourcing services for businesses and I am excited about our new working partnership. The company has recently launched some innovative services for clients, including the RGMS Business Mentor, which offers CEOs of £10-£50m companies the opportunity to hire experienced Interims to work with them as 'critical friends, providing strategic business advice, coaching them through specific business challenges and even undertake CEO-level projects." "Delivering serious and sustainable change in a business might often be about quick fixes or conventional turnaround, but offering the progressive CEO this new and much-needed option will, I am certain, prove to be a compelling board level human capital offering in the demanding months ahead." |
| Interim Manager Solves Supply Chain Challenges for WF Howes |
| WF Howes is a leading UK supplier of Large Print Books and audio books to libraries.. To improve the effectiveness of its service it introduced SAP Business One. However, the MRP element of the system was not being used resulting in little or no stock control both on raw materials and finished goods and many stock shortages. Additionally, the Production department was not aware of order priorities so there was a mismatch between customer requirements and goods available for despatch. Urgent action was needed, so Managing Director Shaun Sibley contacted Russam GMS to quickly find an MRP professional with SAP Business One expertise. Within a matter of days Ken Alderson was in place and hitting the ground running. He immediately mapped all the systems and reviewed and improved the process maps, and he used the MRP system to support these optimised business processes. As a consequence, all Christmas orders were completed on time with no outsourcing (which had been a common practice in the past). A new structure was put in place giving the supply chain manager operational control and new inventory levels were established to ensure the achievement of excellent customer service. A successor was employed to ensure the sustainability of the improvements. Managing Director, Shaun Sibley commented, "This was a key project for us as we were operationally inefficient yet had a very capable MIS system. Ken established an excellent rapport with the staff as a first milestone, thus breaking the barriers for knowledge transfer and change in process. He then repaired our existing processes to ensure effective MRP utilisation. Throughout his assignment, he passed on knowledge and expertise to all around him, which is the icing on the cake when employing Interim Managers. We are now doing what we set out to do, cost effectively." John Wilson, Operations Director of Russam GMS added, "This is a classic example of how the immediacy and flexibility of interim management can bring real, tangible benefits to a manufacturing business in a competitive market" |
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