Interview with Kieran Hynes, Group Financial Director
What do you do?
I am responsible for the implementation, control & reporting on the financial, commercial & legal functions of the Group. Also to ensure that the Group complies in a timely manner with all it’s statutory obligations.
A key part of your role now is involvement in acquisitions – how are you finding this?
Acquiring is extremely rewarding as you get to meet some very interesting companies & people. They usually are entrepreneurs similar to us who have built their companies from a " Green Field" & are extremely proud of their achievements. The difficult bit for them is letting the company go from an emotional side but all generally accept it is in the overall best interests of all the staff & the future growth of their Company.
What is the best thing about your job?
Being actively involved in the growth & development of the Group & seeing your initiatives & ideas bearing a positive influence on this growth. Also monitoring the development potential of key staff that will be responsible for the future running of the Group.
And the worst?
Being a Plc necessitates a high volume of auditing processes both internal & external, It seems at times that no matter what month of the year there is always one audit in process.
You spent some time working in the Middle East – what did you do there?
I was Finance Manager for M F Kent (International) Ltd with responsibility for UAE & Kuwait
How have you found the transition from being part of a privately owned business to being part of a large corporate organisation?
The big difference is the exposure to the corporate environment & their Plc processes & requirements. What is acceptable for a privately managed & owned will change in the Plc world simply because it has to. Most of the changes are very positive as it leads to greater interaction with a broader range of people & ideas. What becomes very apparent is the strength of the Group Plc & the very positive effect that has when sourcing potential acquisitions or indeed striving to bringing our own Group here in the UK higher up in the value chain.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Be clear what you want to do & ideally where your end ambitions lie, then focus & work hard to achieve this objective. Learn early the ability to manage & delegate tasks to others which will then allow you to have the capacity to spend more time on the development of the business. You also need a little luck e.g right place at the right time
Whats your favourite tipple?
A suitably chilled glass of good white wine
What football team do you support?
Tottenham Hotspur - I have supported them since I saw them on television in the 1967 FA Cup Final when they won the 1st all London cup final beating Chelsea 2:1 at Wembley.