In 1991 he joined Halfords (then part of the Boots Group Plc); the car parts and cycle retailer, as Chief Accountant. Here he led the review of accounting and control procedures throughout the organisation, introducing new working practices and minimising year-end audit exposures. His involvement was in all aspects of the business; driving £2.5m improvements in gross margin yield and securing a £1.2m VAT refund. Hans built effective relationships with all areas of the business, The Boots Group and external agencies to improve the working of the Company. His legacy when he left was robust financial controls, visibility of the finance team to the whole business, and a restructured and highly effective team.
Since 1995 has taken more senior roles within subsidiary businesses mainly as Finance Director / General Management, working for T & S Stores Plc (now part of Tesco), Accenture, and The National Express Group. At this level he has led significant transformational change projects, benchmarking, implementation and dissolution of shared service centres and releasing untapped potential in people and businesses.
Hans’ success has always been based on his strong interpersonal skills and his ability to understand and drive the operational side of business. He has had significant IT involvement, often with the IT team reporting to him.