Jonathan Stewart Email & Phone Number

Global

Direx Solutions is a global management consulting company and a leading advisor on business strategy. Partnering with clients in all sectors and regions to identify highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges and transform their businesses and organisations.Working closely with clients to create and deliver advantage, through foresight, knowledge and a deep functional expertise with a practical approach to building capabilities and deliver real-world results.The company ethos is about being passionate about placing individuals into roles which will help the clients achieve outstanding results. Recent case studies:CH2MWorking with CH2M HILL’s Director of Transport Planning and Advisory. Delivering a complex contract to the UK DfT to fulfil their tendering exercise for Heavy Rail franchise operations.Key achievements included creating the design and delivery model responses to three very contrasting bid scenarios, including advising the Treasury on cost and options; and the DfT on how to reduce cost and increase the revenue for each franchise; and on the likely industrial relations (strikes) resulting from proposed service changes and the potential for disrupting commercial and business traffic; on the fares regulation and the implications surrounding fare increase and options to change the regulations and supporting the DfT on the Bid evaluation, with through the companies Associates.Scot Rail bidAdvising MTR, (owner of the Hong Kong Metro system and a major property development corporation. It operates transport systems in the UK, Sweden, China and Australia). Member of the Bid Board.Key achievements included designing the commercial, marketing and facilities management elements of the bid, for this £4bn operating contract awarded by the Scottish Government and producing the highest ranked technical bid in the entire international competition.

Global

Global logistics leader organising supplies of hazardous and non-hazardous goods to the British Army in the UK and overseas. Commissioned Officer since 1996 and steadily promoted.Key achievements included delivering base support, meeting the Commander in Chief Land Forces operational requirements, including planning, logistic support assurance and risk management; leading as Officer Commanding a team of 170 logistics specialists ready to deploy globally as and when required; hosting foreign military delegations on behalf of UK Trade and Invest (UKTI) as part of export drives; Previously, Adjutant of 168 Pioneer Regiment, Royal Logistic Corp, the largest unit in the British Army, with 678 personnel; managing extensive coaching, mentoring and training and development of troops facing hazardous postings and supporting casualties discharged from the Army’s medical facilities at Selly Oak Hospital and Headley Court, and providing support and where necessary discipline to troops who fail in their duties.

North Of England

Turnaround of the company’s commercial functions prior to a returning exercise. Covering Customer Service, a Customer Contact Centre, Facilities Management; Property Development; PR; Internal and External Communications (including Government Relations) and Marketing, with a £600m turnover and almost 5,000 staff. Key achievements included repositioning the considerable challenges with the company’s commercial services, caused by an over-reliance on public subsidies and leadership neglect; identifying and delivering “quick wins” to gain momentum, including a new advanced fare discount scheme, a mobile phone app to sell Northern’s services, and introducing web-based e-commerce; adding £22m to the bottom line through an overhauled revenue protection system, including new and well trained hires and a robust attitude to enforcement, including prosecutions; turning the Estates and Facilities department into a revenue generating team, delivering projects for third parties including bidding for and winning NSIP funding of £28m and SCPF funding of £2.8m car park development; negotiating with Government Ministers during an industrial dispute, guaranteeing the continuance of public subsidies despite any service interruptions, ensuring “Force Majeure”; building a social media presence to improve both sales and customer satisfaction, including a Twitter following of 28,000 from a zero base; creating, from a standing start, a robust but cost-effective CRM system, pooling Northern’s customer data and linking it to various on and off line marketing campaigns; improving Northern’s ranking for numerous measures on the Government’s national quality survey, including overall passenger satisfaction and the helpfulness of staff and winning millions of pounds worth of free PR by getting Northern the first episode of a BBC documentary about rail in the North of England, which generated significant, positive feedback from the client base.

Jordan

CMTC plc operation runs the urban bus network in Amman, the capital of Jordan. It has around 350 vehicles and a team of more than 450 employees. Key achievements included rapid diagnostic of serious shortcomings in the acquiring company’s due diligence and severe commercial challenges for CMTC, including and restructuring the balance sheet; designed and agreed an eight month strategy with the Kuwaiti owners to run the company while a new owner was sought, coping with local cultural requirements that no side should “lose face”; negotiated successfully with Jordanian Government Ministers and senior officials through the commercial challenges and the political upheavals of the “Arab Spring” to keep the service running and working with the Kuwaiti investor to squeeze additional funding out of the City of Amman, ensuring services until the owners disposed of CMTC (through renationalisation) at the purchase price.

United Kingdom

Full P&L responsibility for operations, marketing and sales functions. Operational responsibility for service delivery, customer experience, bidding and business development.Key achievements included bid and mobilisation Directorship for major 5 year contract renewal (65% of revenue); leading the business change programme, reviewed company strategy and direction, to meet customer needs; delivering a technology punctuality improvement programme to 2,500 personnel, improving by over 8%; reducing head count by 15%; building marketing, sales and customer service infrastructure delivering real 10% revenue growth; identifying and corrected operational, commercial & financial underperformance, increasing reliability 10% and integrated First Yorkshire West & First Bradford into a new single operating company.

North Yorkshire

As a member of a regional branch of The Institute of Director (IoD) responsibilities included encouraging entrepreneurial activity and promoting best business practices for both local and national companies and members.

United Kingdom And Ireland

Strategic role at the world’s number one distributor of heating and plumbing products to the professional market. Delivered key projects across a diverse business and integrated supply chain and project managed the ERP development and rollout.Key achievements included re-engineered the £2bn supply chain, delivered value creation and efficiency programmes, working capital reductions, 19% to 7% improving stock availability/reducing order times, and new WMS and TMS systems linked to ERP; developed factory gate pricing creating £1m additional profit in 1st year and implementing an environmental management systems that attained ISO 14001.

United Kingdom And Ireland

Accountable for the Kimberly-Clark trade products in the UK and Ireland. Full commercial responsibilities for managing the NDC operation, Material Handling Operation, Transport Fleet and Engineering Workshop; a £12 million budget including P&L and more than 200 employees in a heavily unionised environment.

United Kingdom

Operational responsibility for looking after the Akzo Nobel/Crown Paints distribution in the UK. Setting up and running a paper distribution warehouse in London for same-day and next day deliveries. Leading business development and contract bids for the Commercial Director.

Europe

Operational management of the Boulton & Paul contract for the storage and distribution of joinery products across the UK and Europe. Additionally supplying analytical support to strategically develop the customer service levels across the business. Graduate Management Trainee, United Transport Europe from September 1991 for two years. Followed by an 18-month professional management-training programme, covering HSE, operations, project management, IT, business development, finance and marketing within logistics. Management experience across the business including, fuel distribution for Esso products in the South East of England and avgas nationally from Stanwell and Purfleet locations. Chemical distribution for ICI from Teesside and the operation 6 vessels for United Transport Container Holdings across Northern Europe.

Chartered Member, Logistics, Supply Chain And Transport

Diploma & Certificate, Company Direction

Praxis, Managing People Effectively

Commissioning Course

Hnd, Business & Finance