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| Steve's career began with a Commercial
Management training programme with part of the E.M.I. Group in the
mid / late seventies. It culminated in a buying position within the
company's purchasing group. He took his first sales position in f.m.c.g at Carnation Foods in early 1978. Taking to the sales environment like a 'duck to water', he became the district's top salesman in his first full year. The first of two career 'cornerstones' followed when he joined the Commercial Division of Bowater-Scott Corporation in 1979. Over a 6+ year period he twice achieved Top SE Region and Top National Salesman awards, as well as the Top National Account Manager's trophy at the tender age of 24, when he was responsible for such valuable Bowater-Scott national customers as Vickers, Esso, Ford Motor Company, BP, and Grand Metropolitan Group. During a two year period in National Accounts, as part of a team of 7, he personally generated 50% of the group's new business across the UK. He was promoted to a first line sales manager's position in SE England at 26 which was the youngest ever sales management appointment in the somewhat conservative UK history of Bowater-Scott. In 1985 he left to accept the London / SE Region sales manager's position with Muraspec-the UK market leader in contract wallcoverings, part of Wallcoverings International Group. This was one of the company's six regions but generated 50% of the organisation's revenue. A 2nd line management position, with full P&L responsibility and a much bigger team of 20, which gave him considerably more commercial exposure led to him being 'groomed' for the UK Sales Manager's slot. His team successfully over-produced by several percentage points against their profit target, despite being consistently down against headcount. |
| Steve conceived and jointly-founded Quantum with Jeff Downs in 1992. He has been a central figure in the positioning and growth of the business since this time which included getting to a six figure booked revenue position, from scratch, in the first 5 months. |
| In the manic, pre-'Big Bang' period of the
late 80's, he accepted the UK Sales Manager's position with a large London-based PC re-seller, where, over a 12 month period he was
instrumental in growing year-on-year sales revenue by 40%. In mid / late 1987, 'career cornerstone number 2' loomed as he accepted a Sales Management Consultant's position with one of the world's leading sales and sales management training organisations. In an especially pacy, dynamic, environment he was consistently on or over target and built a six figure client base selling and delivering a range of 'off the shelf', and bespoke, sales and sales management development programmes. He was responsible for the management of the UK portion of three major pan-European accounts and delivery of the various parts of the programmes for the clients, in the UK, and in mainland Europe, during his final 18 months with the organisation. Towards the end of 1990 he joined Abraxas Computer Services Ltd as Group Sales & Marketing Director with full senior line management responsibility for two IT services sales groups and a product sales group. In addition to constructing a comprehensive marketing plan for the organisation, he was also the architect of several, seven figure, high profile new contracts, which, in themselves, were a big factor in stabilising the business in the fierce recessionary climate of the early 1990's. Steve conceived and jointly-founded Quantum with Jeff Downs in 1992. He has been a central figure in the positioning and growth of the business since then which included getting to a six figure booked revenue position, from scratch, in the first 5 months. Widely respected as a senior management advisor in sales and sales management, Steve has line responsibility internally for much of what happens at the 'sharp end' for Quantum. |