Newsletter

MJI Newsletter - Spring 2008

Dear Colleagues and Friends.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of the challenges and opportunities within my portfolio, that I and my colleagues at Rockpools, MJI and Vetfone will be tackling in the months ahead. The power of personal and professional networks can be quite extraordinary. Do get in touch if we can help you address similar challenges in your organisation or if you have suggestions or a contribution to make to any of these activities. As always we will continue to put individuals within our networks in touch with each other if there is a possibility of common interest or mutual support, and please feel free to do the same with your networks.

Rockpools

Rockpools will go from strength to strength in Scotland during 2008, as it catches up with the earlier explosive growth of Rockpools core Executive Search, Interim and Assessment provision elsewhere in the UK. I am honoured to serve as the Rockpools partner in Scotland.. Likewise the MJI team will work ever more closely with the emerging Ethic & Governance practice within Rockpools, led by Claer-Lloyd Jones.

Undoubtedly we have taken on a tough assignment in seeking to recruit a Director General for Finance & Corporate Services for the Scottish Government. The individual selected will have a huge contribution to make, maximising the impact of Scotland’s public expenditure and supporting the Scottish Cabinet and Strategic Board members in meeting the wider aims of the Scottish Government. We have an exceptional Central Government team led by Hamish Davidson, our Chair, and James Greengrass and I am delighted to be able to prove our worth to the Scottish Government. We have received an extraordinary high number of high calibre applications and are now moving to interview candidates before making our recommendations for shortlist to the panel.

Our passion for contributing across the sectors is as strong as ever. It has been a pleasure to introduce our Third Sector team to Scotland, and we hope to make two outstanding appointments at the Scottish Refugee Council as Chief Executive and Operations Director.

www.iwilllead.co.uk

· Recently we appointed also a Finance & Resources Director to the five strong Management Board of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.

www.scvo.org.uk

	We completed two assignments for Napier University just before Christmas, identifying great individuals to lead Academic Development and Policy & Communications. We look forward to supporting those individuals as they settle in to critical new roles and to providing further support to Napier.
	Our work, with MJI Associate Roddy Whiteford, at the University of Strathclyde, has deepened our knowledge of Student Associations and Student Unions. We look forward to following up with Strathclyde and other Universities.
	Elsewhere our teams have been busy developing Glasgow City council’s Top Team, making senior appointments at Glasgow Housing Association and at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and appointing a Scottish Commissioner, Ms Morag Alexander, as the Scottish Commissioner for the UK Commission for Equality and Human Rights.
	Leading Edge, which provides a safe space for all sectors to come together to discus issues of the day, is a year old and goes from strength to strength. Our most recent event in January debated the increasingly charged topic of the role of the third sector in providing public services, with key note contributions from the Deputy Auditor General and the Chief Executive of the Charity Regulator.

MJI

2008 will see MJI focused as ever on delivering a more effective understanding between public, private and the third sector. The structured approach which we take, Strategic Dialogue, continues to win friends. We are delighted to be working once more with Professor Janice Morphet and to be joined in our endeavours by Bill Howat. Bill is a former CEO of a Scottish Local Authority, Chair of Volunteer Development Scotland, and chaired a review of Scotland’s Public Expenditure for the last Scottish administration, now known universally as the Howat Report.

	We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Centre for Public Policy and with a growing number of private sector sponsors to facilitate a series of Cabinet Secretary dinners in Scotland to debate key policy drivers for reform of Scotland public services. The first of which on February 20^th is oversubscribed and will feature John Swinney, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth
	We have been asked to contribute to developing the stakeholder engagement around the Skills Agenda and the Skills Strategy for Scotland. This is also in the context of great changes elsewhere in the UK, with the creation of the UK Skills Commission, headed up by my former Senior partner at KPMG. Sir Michael Rake. We will be organising a series of Dialogue events in Scotland and providing support to those engaged in shaping a distinctive approach in Scotland that nevertheless recognises the common challenges faced by stakeholders across the UK and beyond.
	UK wide, we are about to support a series of Dialogue Events leading to a UK Plenary Event which examines the drive towards local accountability and budgeting, exemplified by the development of Multi Area Agreements and Local Outcome Agreements and the notions of City Regions or Core Cities. This shift in thinking is reflected across the UK, and has huge implications for place shaping, for local democracy and for reinvigorating the Regeneration agenda.
	Our work with private sector organisations continues to grow. We are delighted to be assisting Revolymer, a company that has developed numerous commercial applications for revolutionary polymer technology, including the development of a revolutionary “Clean Gum” that will revolutionise the global chewing gum industry.. We are confident that this product innovation, beginning with the support of UK Local authorities and Central and Devolved Governments will make a huge contribution to a “Cleaner, Greener Environment.”
	We very much hope to extend our approach across the water to Northern Ireland and to use our Strategic Dialogue tools to contribute in a small way to the Reform of Public Administration.

Vetfone

Some of you are aware that I am a director of Vets Direct Ltd which provides “Vetfone” a NHS Direct equivalent 24/7 advisory service for concerned pet owners. We are now the UK Market Leader in providing this service to Insurers and Animal Charities.

	A new contract has been signed to support the RSPCA for a further three years
	Our work with Dogs Trust goes from strength to strength, supporting re-homing
	Vetfone has recently been included in M&S Money’s Pet Insurance though our growing relationship with RSA
	We have just signed a major contact for out of hours calling with the Kennel Club of Great Britain
	We are breaking into the Pet Pharma help line market, providing advice and guidance to Veterinary practices for new products
	We anticipate signing a major publishing agreement with a major media house, developing the Vetfone brand as a major online presence.

All in all it continues to be a busy year for the teams involved in each business. My thanks to everyone for their continued support, as friend, colleague, client or supporter.

We aim as always to make a difference and to deliver a quality of engagement that sets the standard.

I and my colleagues look forward to working with you over the coming months, and to sharing in more great adventures.