James Howes
Independent Associate - Strategy and Transformation Consultant at Uuna- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Richard Brady
I worked with James for 5 years and always found him to be insightful, quick to pick up new ideas, thorough and a strong communicator. He has a good grasp of the details and can explain them clearly to members of the team at all levels. He was able to cut through complex processes and simplify them with a strong grasp of technologies and systems. He is commercially minded and pragmatic and has an appetite for risk without being reckless. James’s written communication is excellent which seems to be a rarity nowadays. He has a very good sense of humour making him a great team member and I consider him a good friend and business partner.
Michael Gonzalez (MCIPS)
Having worked with James as his subordinate, a peer, and his line manager. I can wholly recommend his approach to his strategic thinking and ability to communicate to any project or problem that is required to be solved. James is one of those team players, that truly only needs to be told background or information once, he has superb aptitude to understand, process information and ability to problem solve. Simply put, he gets it and more importantly can simplify complex issues/information to be able to explain information, to any levels of resource in the company. This really helps delivering at speed and augments execution. Based on my experience on working with him. Any situation that James did not know anything about, he can be thrown in at the deep end and within a very short period, he would sound like a subject matter expert. Which makes him a very powerful and useful person. to have within any situation. In addition, his ability to build up senior and strategic relationships, is one of the best I have professionally seen. His ability to build a rapport and gain trust is remarkable and again really helps to drive results, as he can be trusted to deliver. On a personal level it is not if we will work together again, it is when, as I would not hesitate to bring him onto any project, I am involved in. Believe me when I say this, he is a real asset.
Carina Kemp
James is an exceptionally strong analyst and an aptitude for proposing and implementing pragmatic , commercially oriented outcomes. His experience across sectors translates well across multiple organisations.
Richard Brady
I worked with James for 5 years and always found him to be insightful, quick to pick up new ideas, thorough and a strong communicator. He has a good grasp of the details and can explain them clearly to members of the team at all levels. He was able to cut through complex processes and simplify them with a strong grasp of technologies and systems. He is commercially minded and pragmatic and has an appetite for risk without being reckless. James’s written communication is excellent which seems to be a rarity nowadays. He has a very good sense of humour making him a great team member and I consider him a good friend and business partner.
Michael Gonzalez (MCIPS)
Having worked with James as his subordinate, a peer, and his line manager. I can wholly recommend his approach to his strategic thinking and ability to communicate to any project or problem that is required to be solved. James is one of those team players, that truly only needs to be told background or information once, he has superb aptitude to understand, process information and ability to problem solve. Simply put, he gets it and more importantly can simplify complex issues/information to be able to explain information, to any levels of resource in the company. This really helps delivering at speed and augments execution. Based on my experience on working with him. Any situation that James did not know anything about, he can be thrown in at the deep end and within a very short period, he would sound like a subject matter expert. Which makes him a very powerful and useful person. to have within any situation. In addition, his ability to build up senior and strategic relationships, is one of the best I have professionally seen. His ability to build a rapport and gain trust is remarkable and again really helps to drive results, as he can be trusted to deliver. On a personal level it is not if we will work together again, it is when, as I would not hesitate to bring him onto any project, I am involved in. Believe me when I say this, he is a real asset.
Carina Kemp
James is an exceptionally strong analyst and an aptitude for proposing and implementing pragmatic , commercially oriented outcomes. His experience across sectors translates well across multiple organisations.
Richard Brady
I worked with James for 5 years and always found him to be insightful, quick to pick up new ideas, thorough and a strong communicator. He has a good grasp of the details and can explain them clearly to members of the team at all levels. He was able to cut through complex processes and simplify them with a strong grasp of technologies and systems. He is commercially minded and pragmatic and has an appetite for risk without being reckless. James’s written communication is excellent which seems to be a rarity nowadays. He has a very good sense of humour making him a great team member and I consider him a good friend and business partner.
Michael Gonzalez (MCIPS)
Having worked with James as his subordinate, a peer, and his line manager. I can wholly recommend his approach to his strategic thinking and ability to communicate to any project or problem that is required to be solved. James is one of those team players, that truly only needs to be told background or information once, he has superb aptitude to understand, process information and ability to problem solve. Simply put, he gets it and more importantly can simplify complex issues/information to be able to explain information, to any levels of resource in the company. This really helps delivering at speed and augments execution. Based on my experience on working with him. Any situation that James did not know anything about, he can be thrown in at the deep end and within a very short period, he would sound like a subject matter expert. Which makes him a very powerful and useful person. to have within any situation. In addition, his ability to build up senior and strategic relationships, is one of the best I have professionally seen. His ability to build a rapport and gain trust is remarkable and again really helps to drive results, as he can be trusted to deliver. On a personal level it is not if we will work together again, it is when, as I would not hesitate to bring him onto any project, I am involved in. Believe me when I say this, he is a real asset.
Carina Kemp
James is an exceptionally strong analyst and an aptitude for proposing and implementing pragmatic , commercially oriented outcomes. His experience across sectors translates well across multiple organisations.
Richard Brady
I worked with James for 5 years and always found him to be insightful, quick to pick up new ideas, thorough and a strong communicator. He has a good grasp of the details and can explain them clearly to members of the team at all levels. He was able to cut through complex processes and simplify them with a strong grasp of technologies and systems. He is commercially minded and pragmatic and has an appetite for risk without being reckless. James’s written communication is excellent which seems to be a rarity nowadays. He has a very good sense of humour making him a great team member and I consider him a good friend and business partner.
Michael Gonzalez (MCIPS)
Having worked with James as his subordinate, a peer, and his line manager. I can wholly recommend his approach to his strategic thinking and ability to communicate to any project or problem that is required to be solved. James is one of those team players, that truly only needs to be told background or information once, he has superb aptitude to understand, process information and ability to problem solve. Simply put, he gets it and more importantly can simplify complex issues/information to be able to explain information, to any levels of resource in the company. This really helps delivering at speed and augments execution. Based on my experience on working with him. Any situation that James did not know anything about, he can be thrown in at the deep end and within a very short period, he would sound like a subject matter expert. Which makes him a very powerful and useful person. to have within any situation. In addition, his ability to build up senior and strategic relationships, is one of the best I have professionally seen. His ability to build a rapport and gain trust is remarkable and again really helps to drive results, as he can be trusted to deliver. On a personal level it is not if we will work together again, it is when, as I would not hesitate to bring him onto any project, I am involved in. Believe me when I say this, he is a real asset.
Carina Kemp
James is an exceptionally strong analyst and an aptitude for proposing and implementing pragmatic , commercially oriented outcomes. His experience across sectors translates well across multiple organisations.
Experience
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Uuna
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United Kingdom
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Independent Associate - Strategy and Transformation Consultant
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Mar 2023 - Present
Change management, strategy formation, strategic consulting and ERP turnaround diagnostics to not-for-profit organisations and membership bodies in the US and UK. Change management, strategy formation, strategic consulting and ERP turnaround diagnostics to not-for-profit organisations and membership bodies in the US and UK.
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7 Step Solutions
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United Kingdom
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Consultant
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Oct 2022 - Present
Procurement consulting to regional telecomms client through 7 Step Solutions. Procurement consulting to regional telecomms client through 7 Step Solutions.
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Lightpath Advisory
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Capital Markets
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Director - Equity-driven advisory to owner-operated UK SMEs
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Aug 2019 - Present
Helping small businesses survive and thrive in tough times. Relieving distressed companies with turnaround and rescue strategies. Providing ‘free at point of use’ growth and profitability services to non-distressed SMEs. Helping small businesses survive and thrive in tough times. Relieving distressed companies with turnaround and rescue strategies. Providing ‘free at point of use’ growth and profitability services to non-distressed SMEs.
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Tenzing
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United States
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Independent Associate
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Jun 2016 - Present
Various procurement support services as a member of Tenzing's expert pool of delivery and advisory consultants. Tenzing is partnered with McKinsey and secures much of its deal flow from McKinsey projects. Fulfilled two contracts on behalf of Tenzing; one with a leading Asian investment bank (5 months), providing savings delivery against a long-tail-spend project pipeline, and one with a top-10 Logistics (3 weeks), providing advisory services on the truck fleet category. Various procurement support services as a member of Tenzing's expert pool of delivery and advisory consultants. Tenzing is partnered with McKinsey and secures much of its deal flow from McKinsey projects. Fulfilled two contracts on behalf of Tenzing; one with a leading Asian investment bank (5 months), providing savings delivery against a long-tail-spend project pipeline, and one with a top-10 Logistics (3 weeks), providing advisory services on the truck fleet category.
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Various Companies
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United States
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700 & Above Employee
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Senior Interim Procurement, Operations and Business Consultant
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Jun 2014 - Present
BAT: Developed world-first recycling solution for used e-cigarette vapour cartomizers and devices in cross-functional team. Blueprint rolled out globally. (18 mth engagement) Worldpay: Scoped $30m of cost saving opportunities to support post-merger integration through CPO-commissioned, bottom-up review of professional and technology services supply base in a challenging post-acquisition cultural backdrop. (9 mth engagement) Coca-Cola: Saved $12.5m against baseline by… Show more BAT: Developed world-first recycling solution for used e-cigarette vapour cartomizers and devices in cross-functional team. Blueprint rolled out globally. (18 mth engagement) Worldpay: Scoped $30m of cost saving opportunities to support post-merger integration through CPO-commissioned, bottom-up review of professional and technology services supply base in a challenging post-acquisition cultural backdrop. (9 mth engagement) Coca-Cola: Saved $12.5m against baseline by negotiating pan-European, sole-supplier car leasing contract for seven countries and four business units. (6 mth engagement) ABI: Saved $16.6m (35%) on external auditor costs using 'slow burning' Dutch auction, despite having just one viable supplier. (9 mth engagement) ABI: Saved $2.1m on Salesforce implementation through systems integrator tender. (9 mth engagement) HSBC: Head of Strategic Partnerships Delivery, created bespoke training programme to increase value from transformation consulting engagements at HSBC. Delivered course to ~200 staff in UK, India and Hong Kong. (28 mth engagement) HSBC: Procurement Lead for HSBC IT Transformation (ITT) programme. Held seat on Deal Review Board and line management responsibility for two procurement managers. (28 mth engagement) HSBC: ITT programme budget of $3bn covered nine workstreams addressing full technology stack: hardware, infrastructure, software, DevOps implementation, vendor management, and data integration. (28 mth engagement) In addition to the above, provided general support to various procurement and business transformation initiatives at BP, IWG, a leading Asian investment bank, and a top-10 logistics business (both via Tenzing Consulting). Show less BAT: Developed world-first recycling solution for used e-cigarette vapour cartomizers and devices in cross-functional team. Blueprint rolled out globally. (18 mth engagement) Worldpay: Scoped $30m of cost saving opportunities to support post-merger integration through CPO-commissioned, bottom-up review of professional and technology services supply base in a challenging post-acquisition cultural backdrop. (9 mth engagement) Coca-Cola: Saved $12.5m against baseline by… Show more BAT: Developed world-first recycling solution for used e-cigarette vapour cartomizers and devices in cross-functional team. Blueprint rolled out globally. (18 mth engagement) Worldpay: Scoped $30m of cost saving opportunities to support post-merger integration through CPO-commissioned, bottom-up review of professional and technology services supply base in a challenging post-acquisition cultural backdrop. (9 mth engagement) Coca-Cola: Saved $12.5m against baseline by negotiating pan-European, sole-supplier car leasing contract for seven countries and four business units. (6 mth engagement) ABI: Saved $16.6m (35%) on external auditor costs using 'slow burning' Dutch auction, despite having just one viable supplier. (9 mth engagement) ABI: Saved $2.1m on Salesforce implementation through systems integrator tender. (9 mth engagement) HSBC: Head of Strategic Partnerships Delivery, created bespoke training programme to increase value from transformation consulting engagements at HSBC. Delivered course to ~200 staff in UK, India and Hong Kong. (28 mth engagement) HSBC: Procurement Lead for HSBC IT Transformation (ITT) programme. Held seat on Deal Review Board and line management responsibility for two procurement managers. (28 mth engagement) HSBC: ITT programme budget of $3bn covered nine workstreams addressing full technology stack: hardware, infrastructure, software, DevOps implementation, vendor management, and data integration. (28 mth engagement) In addition to the above, provided general support to various procurement and business transformation initiatives at BP, IWG, a leading Asian investment bank, and a top-10 logistics business (both via Tenzing Consulting). Show less
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Fairmountain Capital Limited
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United Kingdom
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Head of Acquisitions
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Feb 2022 - Sep 2022
Participated in the acquisition, divestment and disposal of five businesses in the UK SME market, in recruitment, training and education, facilities management, and construction. Engaged by CEO to design, build and manage the Acquisitions side of a boutique UK SME private equity business focussing on acquiring profitable companies of £1m-£15m revenue. Created acquisitions operating model, processes and organisational design from scratch. Conducted business valuations and… Show more Participated in the acquisition, divestment and disposal of five businesses in the UK SME market, in recruitment, training and education, facilities management, and construction. Engaged by CEO to design, build and manage the Acquisitions side of a boutique UK SME private equity business focussing on acquiring profitable companies of £1m-£15m revenue. Created acquisitions operating model, processes and organisational design from scratch. Conducted business valuations and created deal structures that were targetted towards being acceptable to both buyer and vendor. Participated in the acqusition and divestment of a number of portfolio businesses. Provided advisory / NED services for portfolio companies in Facilities Management, Recruitment and Construction, with a focus on cashflow management, debt service and operational improvements to increase margin. Responsible for deal structuring, securing acquisition financing, and transaction due diligence, from lead to completion. Developed relationships with debt and equity investors. Line management responsibility for Investment Analyst and Corporate Finance Support Manager.
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Partner
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Feb 2020 - Feb 2022
We buy or invest in profitable companies with at least 6 years of trading history and turnover from £3m to £20m.
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Agrega Ltd
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United Kingdom
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Consumer Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Senior Global Sourcing Manager, Fleet
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Mar 2013 - Dec 2013
Agrega was a JV between British American Tobacco and Anheuser-Busch InBev to address their consolidated global indirect spend. • Designed fuel policy for BAT to reduce consumption, subsequently implemented in 42 countries. • Negotiated and implemented vehicle leasing contracts across multiple countries.
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Global Sourcing Analyst, Various Categories
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Apr 2012 - Feb 2013
Designed innovative e-auction strategy for managed print services yielding 20% savings, despite only one supplier participating.
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Barclays
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United Kingdom
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Financial Services
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700 & Above Employee
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Sourcing Manager, Human Resources / Facilities Management
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Jul 2011 - Apr 2012
Responsible for HR services inc. Recruitment, Learning, Employee Benefits, Fleet and HR infrastructure sub-categories, and Facilities Management in Western Europe. Responsible for HR services inc. Recruitment, Learning, Employee Benefits, Fleet and HR infrastructure sub-categories, and Facilities Management in Western Europe.
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A.P. Moller - Maersk
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Denmark
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Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage
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700 & Above Employee
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Strategic Sourcing Manager
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Jun 2010 - Jul 2011
Leading and supporting sourcing projects for trucking, rail, and terminal services on behalf of Maersk Line and Damco in various world markets.
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Project Manager, Processes and Support
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Oct 2008 - Jun 2010
- Member of Maersk Line Scandinavia Operations' Leadership Team. - Worked on the company’s offshoring programme. - Staged the Scandinavian container trucking industry's first e-auction.
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Graduate Management Trainee
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Jan 2006 - Oct 2008
- One of 450 successful candidates from global applicant pool of over 88,000. In the UK, one of 9 trainees from more than 2,000 candidates. - Theoretical and practical education combined with placements in various business units and central functions.
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Education
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University of Liverpool
2.1, English Literature and Philosophy -
2022 - 2023
Corporate Finance Institute® (CFI)
Financial Modelling and Valuation Analyst, Finance and Financial Management Services -
2018 - 2018
The Harbour Club
Mergers and Acquisitions -
2017 - 2017
Mensa UK
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2013 - 2013
Effective Project & Stakeholder Management
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2013 - 2013
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training
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2013 - 2013
The Brain People Limited
NLP Foundation Diploma -
2012 - 2012
BAT Sourcing Training
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2011 - 2011
The GAP Partnership
The Complete Skilled Negotiator, Negotiation -
2010 - 2010
Implement Consulting
Project Management -
2007 - 2007
McKinsey & Company/Maersk Procurement
Sourcing Concepts & Techniques
Community
