HAWCO

Company background

Backed by Bay Tree Private Equity, Hawco is a distributor of components for commercial refrigeration, industrial processes and comfort cooling, both nationally and internationally. The business also provides technical services to engineers, designers and procurement managers.

The brief

With a strong product range and experienced team, Hawco is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities for further growth in both UK and overseas markets.

To lead the charge, Hawco required a commercially minded, results-led CEO to drive operational excellence and product innovation, build client relationships, and expand market footprint through organic and acquisition growth strategies. Directorbank was mandated to fulfil the search.

The ideal candidate would be a clear business leader with a background in international, B2B product-based businesses selling to global markets. They would have a proven track record in defining, communicating and executing strategies for sustainable growth with the ability to lead and motivate teams towards success within a high-performance culture.

The process

Simon and lead researcher Luke Walker undertook an analytical, data-led approach to the assignment identifying competitors and adjacent companies to Hawco. Additionally, Simon reached out to his extensive network of contacts and more than 70 candidates were identified. From this pool, more than 30 were approached and 12 underwent a screening interview with six being presented for interview. Simon Allan was successfully appointed to the position.

The result

Simon is a commercially orientated, growth-focused leader with a proven track record in B2B distribution markets covering plumbing, heating, electrical and security equipment in global organisations. Most recently he was responsible for the UK & Ireland division of ADI Global, the UK’s leading distributor of security and access control equipment. He has also held several leadership positions at Wolseley, the plumbing, heating and cooling trade specialist merchant, and was Global Director at Armstrong Fluid, a leader in HVAC, plumbing and fire safety fluid-flow solutions.