Pierre-Yves Robert Email & Phone Number

London, England, Gb

Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Gb

Currently working on a contract basis, advising and supporting organisations to manage strategic projects.I am especially keen to partner with start-ups and scale-ups to leverage my key strengths, particularly with systems and process design and implementation in the business and people operations functions, and team and leadership development.

Goteborg, Se

Reporting directly to the CEO, I ran point on the business' 2021 strategic planning process, which ensured that we delivered a plan that was correctly resourced and aligned across all teams. Other projects that I successfully delivered included convening and facilitating the company "virtual kick-off" for 2021 and defining an MVP sales-enablement framework to support product releases.

Goteborg, Se

Reporting directly to the CEO, I led the sales and customer success teams across the non-Nordic markets when the Covid-19 pandemic started. I successfully led greater cohesion within the teams and collaborated closely with the marketing and finance leads to define a robust H2 commercial plan.

Goteborg, Se

Reporting directly to the COO, I ran point on a project to review Salesforce, the commission model and other sales/revenue ops processes and practices to improve adoption of best practices by the sales and customer success organisation.

London, England, Gb

I led and facilitated the newly-launched online Coaching for Growth and Leading Change programmes on the internal eLearning platform, Grant Thornton University, reaching across the global Grant Thornton professional services network via hosted webinars. From April 2018, I also led the review and implementation of the new global learning management system, which was rolled out in January 2019 and envisaged to reach a learner network of ±35 000.

Bellville, Western Cape, Za

I consulted on programme design and delivered learning and development programmes to middle, senior and executive management teams of corporate clients. As one of the virtual faculty I also facilitated modules in marketing management, strategic management and customer-centricity. A key role was in supporting programme participants as a business transformation coach and learning process facilitator (LPF).As an LPF I supported ±300 managers on 50+ business change projects as a business coach and change leader for clients such as Toyota South Africa, Tongaat Hulett Sugar Limited, Metropolitan Health, Durban Automotive Cluster and Distell, amongst others.

This was a two year project to realise and involved negotiating the legal and investment processes to establish the first franchise store with Knead Brand Company.As the Owner/Operator and principal investor, I project-managed the launch of the first franchise store. I recruited and trained the service and back-of-house teams, implemented all best-practice operational systems and processes, and led all operational aspects of HR, recruitment, training of production and service teams, development, production planning, stock control, marketing, employee relations, and key financial responsibilities.

I led the management team and was principally responsible for defining strategy, financial management and administration, and ensuring that our people and culture strategy supported our long-term goals.A critical aspect of this role was around relationship management within the management team, our suppliers and industry partners, and the community, especially concerning our employees and safety and security.

In this role, I had the incredible opportunity to radically redesign the business. I led and project-managed several major diversification and infrastructure investments, including a significant overhaul of the people and culture strategy, logistics and supply chain processes, and business and financial planning and administration. We grew the business by 10X and worked with a team of up to 800 people during peak harvesting periods.

As a non-executive member of the Board, I worked with the executive management team to guide policy and governance, and the management and expansion of the business. Coastal Farmers’ Co-Op (CFC) operates as a bulk-buying organization on behalf of its members – primarily sugarcane and other farmers in KZN – to supply specialist agricultural products and general supplies. It provides members with a “clearinghouse” service at the lowest possible cost and generates a turnover of ±R 800 million p.a.

I served as Chairman of the Amatikulu-Emoyeni Mill Group and, supported by the management team, was responsible for the operational, financial and stakeholder relations of the Mill Group. This is the representative structure that advocates for the entire sugarcane grower community in the Zululand South region (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), which produces 1,1 million tons of sugarcane p.a.

As a board member of the Executive Committee of the SA Cane Growers Association, I represented and supported the interests of sugarcane growers in South Africa. Together with sugar milling representatives, the Board sets policy for the South African Sugar Association (SASA), the legislated organisation that “markets” all the sugar produced in SA. The Exco of Canegrowers functions similarly to the Board of Directors of a commercial company.

Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, Za

I designed and facilitated five undergraduate courses in the Department of Horticultural Sciences, convened the seminar programme for the department's Honours students, supervised various Honours students' research programmes, and had operational oversight of the controlled environment research and teaching facilities.

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Business Administration

Bsc(Agric), Horticultural Science