Pearson is an international media group with a turnover approaching £5 billion. Its main brands include Pearson Education (clearly No. 1 in the US and worldwide), The FT Group, and Penguin. Corporate restructuring had been a continuing theme with over 35 transactions in the period of my involvement, the largest being the $4.2billion acquisition of the Simon & Schuster education business that closed in November 1998.
Sept 2002 to Sept 2003
I came down with a medical condition, myasthenia gravis, in 2000. Over the 18 months of the FastTrack project (discussed below) I controlled it with steroids and other drugs. The cumulative effect after 18 months on my general health was significant. After the FastTrack project, I worked a three day week on full pay first in New York, then after repatriation in London. Eventually I applied for a medical separation and departed in September 2003 on a full pension.
Oct 2000 to Aug 2002
Program Director SAP FastTrack program
Reporting initially to the Group Chief Executive then, after his appointment, to the Group Chief Information Officer, I led the program through completion of the design of the business process and systems.
FastTrack comprised implementing SAP software at the same time as reengineering the book publishing process. I had a project staff reporting to me of over 100.
Key Achievements:·
Obtained board sign-off of a multi-year, multi-million pound program (a series of projects).·
Designed the organisational structure and established the program team.·
Led the initial project through the inevitable major minefields, maintaining the commitment of and winning the appreciation of the great majority of participants.
We went live - big-bang - with a $700m turnover business in November 2002. It took just over 18 months, just 4 months later than target – certainly an excellent result for the publishing industry.