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how he could emulate my career path in EMEA credit management. I have not followed a standard path in


I


my working life in credit management but I hope my story will give some insights into how to move from UK credit management into Europe and other territories around the world. To quickly set the background, I


started in credit management at the ripe old age of 29 having previously studied chartered accountancy, economics and been a graduate management trainee with Marks and Spencer (not to mention a foray in the music and nightclub business!). I became a self-employed credit


management consultant in 1985 primarily working initially with high-turnover, low-volume companies such as designers, publishers, and hotel consultants who required my service one day a week. This suited me as my diary was always full and suited them as they did not have to employ a full- time credit manager. However it was clearly written in the


stars that I should be shaken out of this pleasant routine when I was offered the role of European credit manager with Chugai Boyeki (CBC Europe), Japan’s fourth largest private company. I was their first European credit


manager and responsible for all the UK and European teams. I was also responsible for writing the company’s


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was prompted to write this article by a young man who approached me at an awards ceremony and asked me


first corporate credit policy which meant understanding all the local variations in each country. This was a steep, but valuable, learning curve for me as it formed the basis for future work situations. I should mention, at this stage, that


I speak fluent French, a legacy of a grandmother born in Paris and several summers only speaking French with my cousins from Alsace. I also studied French for seven years. I should also mention that, unlike


many of my colleagues today, there was no clearly defined career path in credit


back – and quite extraordinarily – the issues in Dublin were the same as those in Paris, namely a UK-based company sending out chasing letters to the Irish and French in English! Even though both the Irish and


French managing directors had clearly stated these issues back to London, no-one had listened and nothing had been done. I found solutions within a week. I discovered a law firm in Trinity Square, Dublin that also did credit collection and a similar outfit in Paris. Not rocket science but it ensured my name was made in telcos and my


Together we achieved better results in collections in six months than had been achieved in the previous five years


management and I have never sat a single credit examination – although I am a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM). I achieved this by having seven years senior management experience, by sitting on the London Branch Committee of the CICM, and by having several articles published in the credit press. So, having spent two years at CBC


Europe I moved to GTS, the telephone airtime wholesaler, which later transformed into Ventelo. In my first week in London I was given to understand that there were serious collection issues in both Dublin and Paris and I was despatched to Eire to fathom out the problems. Looking


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contribution had an immediate effect on collections and days sales outstanding. One funny incident sticks in my mind.


When I arrived in France I was given a translator. I immediately saw an opportunity to quickly learn what was going on. I addressed the 45 staff in English and paused between each sentence allowing the translator to do his job. At the end of the week having heard


comments behind my back like “Who does this guy think he is?” and “What makes them think an Englishman can sort things out?” I stood up on the Friday morning and addressed the team in French. There were some open mouths that day I can tell you!


July 2015


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