Case Study
Jonathon Stott
Company: Gateley Hamer
Role: Managing Director
Jonathan is Managing Director of Gateley Hamer. Jonathan is based in Birmingham and the team also has a presence in London, Guildford, Reading and Nottingham.
Outside of work Jonathan enjoys spending time with family, holidays and playing/watching as much sport as possible.
Gateley Hamer is a property consultancy advising clients throughout the UK on matters relating to utility infrastructure and compulsory purchase & compensation.
Their mission statement is to be the UK’s leading team of Chartered Surveyors in the fields of utilities, infrastructure development and compulsory purchase & compensation. Having grown from 7 fee earners to 37 in the past three years they are well on the way to accomplishing their objective.
The team’s primary client base is residential and commercial developers, and promoters of major infrastructure projects.
When I see a forthcoming MD2MD meeting in the diary, I question the time – is it really worthwhile? Yet, when I get there it’s great and every time I learn and often implement the changes recommended by the group.
Jonathan joined the MD2MD group meeting in Oxford in 2016. He was very aware that being the business leader of a company was different from being responsible for a department, albeit as a Director. He also freely admitted his promotion had been earlier than expected when the former MD left. Hamer Associates was an innovative and growing rapidly company, hence the acquisition by Galtely plc was no surprise.
MD2MD offered Jonathan access to world class speakers in the regular workshop sessions. He also became part of the confidential peer challenge board. Here members work together and learn from each other. He was able to discuss with others who had experienced the sudden change to reporting to a plc board. The issues involved in multi-site management and the development of a more sales orientated approach were just two other areas where he found advice and new ideas.
Jonathan quickly became aware as MD that although it was important to involve the team in decisions, there were certain issues which could not be discussed openly. The role of MD can be a surprisingly lonely one at times. The confidential session part of each MD2MD meeting was extremely helpful in seeking a way forward at these times.
Different members get different value from MD2MD membership. For Jonathan, being challenged constructively by his peers was incredibly valuable. It has made him more confident in implementing difficult changes and in helping to contribute fully in a plc environment. He has also cascaded down many of the ideas and thoughts stimulated by the workshops.