At Freedman International we had identified that our corporate communication was far from ideal being inconsistent, uninvolving, and of poor quality.  Most seriously of all it neither reflected where we were as a business nor our ambitions to be a leader in our sector.  These shortcomings were negatively influencing our external perceptions and client attractiveness as well as our ability to motivate and involve our own staff.  The Board decided that this was a priority for change and that we would need the best help available.

We retained Paul to spearhead this important initiative, reporting directly to the CEO.  Progress was rapid as Paul swiftly became “one of us” working with all levels of the business to develop a coherent, comprehensive and stimulating summary of our requirement which he then transformed into a creative brief geared to driving a suite of communication materials from positioning and design guidelines, web and social media and stationery and presentation templates.  The results were transformative and exceeded our most bullish expectations.  For the first time, we were able to articulate our service proposition as visionary and strategically valuable in addition to core abilities to “do stuff”.  The positive effect of this was as important internally aligning our staff as it was working with prospects, clients and business partners.

I appointed Paul as the Interim Director of Communications in January 2012 at the Institute for Learning (IfL).  IfL is the independent professional body for tens of thousands of teachers and trainers working in further education and skills, mostly in England but also a small number of members in 40 countries.

Paul has successfully led the communications and marketing team and has been a valued member of the executive leadership team.  The Interim Director of Communications was responsible for ensuring that communications are used as effectively as possible to enhance the perceived value of the IfL amongst its members, prospective members, employers, trade unions, Government, journalists, and opinion-formers.  Paul has done this well, and as intended he is also leaving a powerful legacy in terms of new learning and expertise gained by the Communications team, and amongst other IfL employees at all levels.

A key role for Paul over the last few months has been leading the review of our strategy suited to the large voluntary membership and being a respected and progressive professional body.  The consultative process Paul used and the new strategy are impressive.  Paul also has made significant progress in developing new revenue streams for IfL, including approaches for attracting external funds and for cross selling valuable products and services to members, in particular relating to members’ continuing professional development.

Paul has exceptionally good interpersonal skills and is both very highly regarded for his expertise and as a senior colleague by all staff and our Board. and he is very well liked and he motivates others really well and he builds an ‘esprit de corps’.   We will miss him, and I highly recommend Paul for any similar senior role.