- Conference Speakers
Topics:
- Business
- Leadership
- Sales/Customer Service
Hamish Taylor
With a CV that the Times described as “takes some beating” Hamish Taylor has managed to follow academic and sporting success with a very fast track career through a number of high profile business roles. In recent years, the Inspired Leaders Network have also added the title of “master thief” based on his record of innovation by transferring ideas between sectors. A fantastic conference and keynote speaker, Hamish draws on his vast experience of his career to give insights into business at all levels
Early Career
Hamish began his career with Procter & Gamble Ltd. From 1984 to 1990 he held a variety of Brand Management positions culminating in responsibility for the household cleaner portfolio (Flash brands). Following this, Hamish was a Management Consultant with PriceWaterhouse from 1990 to 1993 specialising in marketing effectiveness studies.
He was appointed Head of Brand Management at British Airways at the end of 1993 taking responsibility for the airline’s passenger brands (First, Club, Concorde, Shuttle, etc) and also playing a role in the growing group of BA franchise partners and Alliances. Innovations there included major product relaunches of Club Europe, Club World and First Class (including the introduction of flat beds).
Eurostar
In 1997 he moved to Eurostar as Managing Director of Eurostar (UK) Ltd at the age of 36. The business was three years old and his remit was to reduce the major losses the operation was suffering. After two successful years in this role he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Eurostar Group, the organisation which oversees the Eurostar business in the three participating countries (UK, France and Belgium).
Sainsbury Bank and onwards
At the end of 1999 Hamish was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Sainsbury’s Bank, a joint venture between J Sainsbury’s plc (55%) and the Bank of Scotland (45%). Once again, the objective was rapid growth in profit from the breakeven position he inherited. The ability to innovate and move away from traditional Banking approaches to behave more like a retailer proved the key to the significant growth that resulted.
With Sainsburys Bank now earning large profits, Hamish moved to his next challenge as CEO for Vision UK. Vision is a highly innovative consultancy with major clients including Time Warner, General Motors and Citibank. They first brought their Commitment Based Management techniques to the UK with the building of Intelligent Finance.
Striking out on his own, Hamish, the Entrepreneur
In 2004 Hamish established his own company which focuses on enabling organisations to achieve breakthroughs by looking outside their current environment. Processes, product and people development are all part of this mix. Under the Skills Exchange Network name he has also consulted or spoken for a wide variety of organisations including Microsoft, RBS, BAA, Camelot, Inland Revenue, Kimberly Clark, Post Office, Ernst and Young, Diageo and the Economist.
Outside interests
Hamish is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport, and was the Rail Professional Business Manager of the year in 1998 for his results at Eurostar. He chairs the EMEA advisory board for Emory University from whom he also recently received the “Sheth Distinguished International Alumnus” award. Other recent awards include the Inspired Leaders Network award for the management of innovation. He is also a trustee of the Robert T Jones memorial scholarship and a non-executive Director of Chartered Brands, the Edinburgh based Brand realisation company.
“If you want a breakthrough … look outside your current environment”
Hamish has seen first-hand the benefits of looking outside standard industry practices in order to improve performance;
- British Airways put beds in their planes with the help of a yacht designer
- Airport queuing was improved with the help of Disney
- Sainsburys Bank profits increased tenfold by using retail concepts rather than traditional bank approaches
"Hamish's presentations crackle with energy and original insights that make even our group of top-level, seasoned, high-achieving UK business and public sector leaders think 'Crikey: that's inspiring! Why didn't I think of that!?' And these are people whom it's hard to impress..."
Phil Blackburn, Chairman, The Inspired Leaders Network
“One of the best presentations I have ever seen, let alone had the good fortune to Chair” Chairman, Economist IT Directors Conference
"Dynamic and energetic messages; Hamish challenged our thinking and made us view some of our leadership issues as opportunities"
Camelot
"A new way to look at what you do and how you do it."
a Major Bank
“The partners raved about him”
Leading Legal Firm
“genuinely found extremely valuable”
CEO, a Major International Financial Institution
