Nick Addison Email & Phone Number

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

I started my own business in 2008 making corporate, music, and motoring videos. Recent work includes product training webinars and event videos for global automotive manufacturers, a green screen live stream, bid videos for a construction client, animations for training and event use, to-camera internal communications videos, conference and seminar videos and several customer testimonial videos.Music video projects have included Jesus Jones and Peter Andre live concert shoots, live streams with Passenger from London, Manchester, Brighton and Amsterdam, promo videos for function and party bands, filming The Voice star Nathan James' album launch, Electronic Press Kits for Universal Music, the backing visuals for Squeeze's performance for the Teenage Cancer Trust at The Royal Albert Hall, and the backing videos & motion graphics for 3 Peter Andre UK tours.

I was responsible for leading the new product development and service improvement processes for HSBC Vehicle Finance, which Lex delivers on HSBC’s behalf under their brand.A large part of the role involved relationship management, working closely with colleagues from HSBC such as our Contract Manager and the bank’s central Marketing team.I delivered a complete re-positioning of HSBC Vehicle Finance’s product offering, creating new sector-specific products that recognised for the first time the differences between the channels in which the Bank operates.One of the enhancements to the HSBC Vehicle Finance product portfolio was the introduction of a Credit Hire service in partnership with specialist Accident Exchange. The service provided drivers involved in accidents who were not at fault with a like-for-like replacement vehicle at no cost to themselves or their employer while their own car was being repaired.

I took over the leadership of the final stage of the integration of HSBC Vehicle Finance into Lex, overcoming a number of issues and completing on time and under-budget. The integration included a complex IT project to provide an online quoting facility.

Lex is the largest leasing company in the UK, running a fleet of approximately 180,000 cars and vans at the time. For over two years I managed the six-strong team of Product Managers, who were based across two sites. The team’s roles covered new product development, the management and development of existing products, and sales support. Our key objectives were to differentiate Lex in a mature market and increase profitability.I led the development and introduction of Lex’s “Love Cars” differentiation programme delivering 12 new products and service enhancements during 2006, one of which was a carbon offset initiative, the first of its kind in the car leasing industry. I worked with innovation company !What If? on two major projects and was trained by them in order to bring their facilitation and innovation skills in-house. The team had varied backgrounds and experiences, requiring empathy and understanding of the strengths of each to best stimulate them and allocate work. In late 2005 I completed a Level 4 NVQ in Management, which encouraged me to introduce changes to the way that we worked together that improved communication, motivation and effectiveness.

On returning to the Marketing team a new role was created for me, recognising my strength in project management. I was responsible for evaluating product ideas, developing and presenting business cases and leading them to launch. This involved working closely with operational areas of the business and with the Finance and Legal teams.I jointly lead the differentiation project that created “Momentum”, a consultative approach which recognises the differing needs of fleet decision makers, day-to-day operational contacts and customer employees. This approach was unique when launched and directly responsible for a number of significant new business wins for Lex, adding several thousand vehicles to the fleet.During this period I trained as a Six Sigma “Green Belt” and incorporated elements of Six Sigma methodology into a newly formalised new product development process.

As part of my personal development I accepted a secondment to Lex’s Corporate new business team to lead the bid for Consignia’s (Royal Mail) 20,000 van fleet. Through understanding the customer’s specific needs I delivered a solution that achieved preferred bidder status for Lex.

I was responsible for developing Lex’s van business and strengthening our position as the largest UK van leasing company. I worked closely with all the sales channels and built strong relationships with the vehicle manufacturers.Vans grew from 20% to 25% of Lex’s fleet during my time as Product Manager, exceeding delivery targets by 12%. This was achieved mainly through training, the development of tools to aid consultative selling, and profile-raising internal promotion.

At Reynolds (UK) Ltd, security and hardware manufacturer and part of the worldwide Laird plc group, I managed ranges yielding £7.5m annual turnover. Activities covered both trade/business-to-business and retail sectors.I was responsible for consumer and trade promotions, literature, packaging, advertising, media selection, exhibition & event management, point of sale and merchandising, and customer and staff newsletters. I also conducted ongoing pricing analysis to ensure our continued competitiveness in a commodity market.Following a review of the market and of the life cycles of my products I successfully launched a new range of window locks of innovative design, developed in conjunction with external suppliers. The product improvements, in addition to differentiating our offering, lead to annual profit increases of 20%.

As part of a small Marketing team I was the main interface with the sales force, and supported them with timely and accurate information. I was also involved in the introduction of the new corporate identity.I lead the development and management of the first central customer database within BCC, which allowed the business for the first time to fully understand and accurately target their customers and prospects.

As Senior Accounts Clerk I was responsible for the nominal ledger, the preparation of management accounts, the claiming of capital allowances and the completion of VAT returns.I improved the month-end accounts processes, resulting in a reduction in the time taken to publish management accounts from 5 days to 2 days.

My role involved me in the audit of companies of various sizes from a wide variety of sectors, and gave me a thorough understanding of accounting processes. During this time I was also studying towards ICAEW qualification.

Dipm, Marketing

2:1, Geography Bsc