What is ARC?

Alexis
ARC is a good place to come if you run a
business and need a helping hand. We provide management support for small and medium sized companies looking to overcome the organisational and operational challenges of today’s uncertain commercial environment.

ARC was founded and is spearheaded by Alexis Read and supported by a collective of like-minded and professional associates across a broad spectrum of business services, all focused on helping businesses to thrive.

Alexis himself is a project-based business and operations consultant and right-hand man*, helping business leaders and management teams react to and overcome the stumbling blocks that growth and changing circumstances can force upon organisations.

Characteristics of a right-hand man
  • An extension of the leader, able to represent their intentions without replacing them
  • Someone who the leader can bounce ideas off
  • A skilled individual, capable and willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved
  • A reliable operator who delivers what's promised
  • Respected by others, instilling confidence in the team
  • Articulate, both at board level and across the organisation
  • Key values: trust, integrity, loyalty
More about Alexis

Before striking out by himself in 2001, Alexis had a strong grounding in marketing with technology giant IBM and world-wide business services company HQ Global Workplaces (where he was Head of Marketing, Europe), and in consultancy with the IBM Consulting Group. Alongside first class training and corporate experience, these roles have also given him great opportunities to work all across Europe and the USA, and more recently across India.

Student life resulted in degrees from Loughborough and Cambridge Universities as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. Alongside this Alexis also completed a year’s academic research and a number of rugby successes, including two Blues, two rugby league Half Blues and selection for England Students.

Born in Wales, brought up in England with German grandparents and family in the USA and South Africa, Alexis has a broad cultural background and speaks fluent German and good French. Life’s rich tapestry has included living in Hamburg and Munich, building a house in Nottingham and an HIV hospice (‘Hope House’) in rural India, whilst also being a Trustee of a Children’s Charity in Brazil.

Home life in Cheltenham now includes coaching rugby to children very much at the other end of their sporting journeys to him and family camping and sailing, preferably somewhere warm.

How ARC can help

My involvement ranges from leading and supporting critical projects, both strategic and tactical, to redeveloping core business processes.
Having originally practiced as a marketer and a management consultant, my operational experience over the last decade has seen me work with a broad spectrum of clients, helping bridge short to medium term skilled resource gaps in their organisations.

Whatever the assignment, there are some fundamental attributes that clients and colleagues say they get from my support:

  • The ability to translate someone else’s ideas and vision into tangible, achievable actions and results
  • The building of robust structure through planning, organising and control
  • A safe pair of hands to maintain smooth business operations undergoing transition

The success of any project, no matter the size, is also strongly influenced by personality and principles. Business associates and clients have kindly described me as:

  • A good communicator who establishes rapport at every level of the business
  • Motivated by building up things and by making a difference
  • Having strong integrity and values, both in the people and the businesses that he works with
  • A nice, friendly and approachable bloke
  • A good right-hand man*
Characteristics of a right-hand man
  • An extension of the leader, able to represent their intentions without replacing them
  • Someone who the leader can bounce ideas off
  • A skilled individual, capable and willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved
  • A reliable operator who delivers what's promised
  • Respected by others, instilling confidence in the team
  • Articulate, both at board level and across the organisation
  • Key values: trust, integrity, loyalty
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Working with ARC

How we will work together really depends on the characteristics of the project and the solutions that will emerge after an initial consultation meeting.
The main project areas below give a good idea of where ARC's services can really add value to your business.

Problem solving

We take an analytical approach, using reframing skills to identify and address the immediate problems that may be preventing your business from turning new ideas and plans into income-generation, cost savings, or investable reality.

Skills gap

Not all businesses have access to the necessary skills required to be able to 'jump the gap' between where you are now and where you want to be.  We help you to identify and bridge these gaps.

Our skills include:

Project delivery

We can support projects in a number of different ways to suit your business and the work involved.  This might be by way of advice and assistance in moving forwards, or becoming a full part of the client team until it’s done.

Having worked with many different sizes and types of company, both independently and as part of larger project teams in corporate environments, it is understood that additional resources and skills may also be required. In such circumstances, a wide choice of trusted professionals across a spectrum of expertise can be engaged within the project, which ARC can propose, brief and manage on your behalf.

Concept development ×

Your ideas and visions are translated into clear proposals, articulating them to allow others to engage with and understand what you are looking to achieve in a concise and professional manner.

Project Case Studies

St David's Academy No Other Way
Business planning ×

Intellectual rigour and commercial reality is applied to your concepts and assists you in taking them to investment level.

Project Case Studies

The Pre-Fit Delivery Company St David's Academy
Marketing strategy ×

From market analysis and the development or re-working of a strategy to communications and sales support; your overall business objectives will be delivered in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.

Project Case Studies

ARC Consultancy
Operational design and management ×

Businesses are systems built around people and processes. ARC identifies what is stopping the system from working properly and initiates a smooth and efficient change, making sure business is not disrupted during this transition. Where an infrastructure doesn’t exist, it is built from scratch exactly to your specific requirements.

Project Case Studies

Grandma’s Midlands Academy
Financial management and cost control ×

We excel at managing the numbers that underpin all businesses, whether the processes that ensure proper accountability or the specific details of a particular process or project.

Project Case Studies

Midlands Academy Completion
Marketing ×

A wealth of marketing knowledge developed through consultancy and permanent marketing management roles:

Head of Marketing, Europe for HQ Global Workplaces
£75m provider of multi-site property and business services

  • Developed and implemented European marketing strategy in support of product expansion and increased sales targets
  • Created corporate and local marketing structure for 40 centres across 6 countries
  • European representative on global brand strategy team
  • Team management, budget responsibility, planning and delivery

Market Analyst & Segment Manager, IBM

  • Market and portfolio analysis, marketing planning
  • Channel sales and business partner management
  • Business plan development for £273m division
Operations ×

Hands-on experience of understanding, organising and integrating the processes and functions (often overlooked and undervalued) that underpin the smooth and profitable running of a company.

Project Case Studies

The Pre-Fit Delivery Company Midlands Academy Grandma’s Completion
General management ×

The responsibility for and integration of multiple aspects of businesses at a leadership level: working with client Boards and senior management (through IBM Consulting Group & ARC consultancy) and part of the Senior Management Teams at HQ Global Workplaces, Grandma’s and The Pre-Fit Delivery Company, and the Project Management Board of St David’s Academy.

Project Case Studies

IBM Consulting Group ARC Consultancy Grandma’s St David's Academy The Pre-Fit Delivery Company
Consultancy ×

The consultancy process takes in the following key stages:

  • Problem analysis and diagnosis
  • Research and investigation
  • Development of potential solutions
  • Recommendation of a preferred course of action
  • Implementation and facilitation of the solution

Our primary function is to provide you with appropriate solutions to your problems, and our involvement in the implementation phase can be as little or great as you wish.

Project Case Studies

IBM Consulting Group ARC Consultancy
Project management ×

For more complex solutions, we can help your business through the process of planning, organising and controlling your resources from the start to the completion of the project.  We integrate with your team for the project duration to help you deliver the best possible results.

Project Case Studies

Completion Midlands Academy Radical
Interim management ×

For longer projects, where ownership of the project and responsibility for the solution are critical but where you don’t have the skills in-house, we can step into your team on a full-time basis for a defined length of time.  By doing this, we provide the necessary transitional skills but leave you free to re-evaluate the skills you need to take the business forward at the end of the project.

Project Case Studies

The Pre-Fit Delivery Company Midlands Academy Grandma’s
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Projects

Click on the client logos to get an idea of the sort of work we’ve done and what we have achieved for our clients.

St David’s Academy

£36m project to found the UK’s first completely new independent school for several decades.

Taken project from one sheet of A4 to fundraising, building a group of committed backers to deliver a landmark project in a challenging economic environment.

Currently working as Project Manager to the St David’s Academy Project Board with Welsh Rugby Union, Dulwich College and Balfour Beatty to finalise working agreements prior to planning.

  • Concept development
  • Business planning
  • Fundraising
  • Project management

The Pre-Fit Delivery Company

Innovative ski equipment company, taken from initial concept and trial through two rounds of fundraising to operational delivery.

Alongside the commercial and brand development of The Pre-Fit Delivery Company, this 18 month interim project encompassed identifying, establishing and managing the appropriate infrastructure and operational processes through an initial trial season to full delivery capability.

A central element of the project was the development (with business partner clone) of a bespoke online and tablet-based booking, fitting and payment system.

  • Concept development
  • Business planning
  • Fundraising
  • Operational design & management
  • Financial management & cost control
  • Marketing
www.prefitdelivery.com

Group Sports Adventure

Niche travel company start-up.

Established to work alongside The Pre-Fit Delivery Company, now successfully delivering student and small group adventure trips in the Alps.

  • Concept development
  • Business planning
  • Operational design
www.groupsportsadventure.com

Midlands Academy

Expanding further education provider with limited internal processes and skilled resource.

An initial project to lead the business through a key accreditation process resulted in the identification of multiple structural gaps; the subsequent 6 month interim engagement led to the design and implementation of new business processes (particularly service delivery and finance), management tools and IT infrastructure. Also included business partner management in India.

A key aspect of the relationship was the ability to support an inexperienced Chief Executive, whilst redesigning and managing the operational and financial structure at the same time as recruiting a full time operations manager.

  • Project design & management
  • Operational design & management
  • Financial management & cost control
www.midlandsacademy.com

No Other Way

A regeneration-focused start-up project, combining a sustainable and ethical commercial approach with high impact property-led schemes.

A project-based role with its focus on proposition development from initial ideas to Investment Prospectus, marketing and business management; supporting the Chief Executive in refining strategy whilst building and managing a network of key business relationships.

  • Concept development
  • Business planning
  • Fundraising

Grandma’s

Transitional multi-site children’s HIV charity in UK and India.

As interim Head of Operations, designed and led an organisational and operational change programme, successfully enabling the charity to move to a smaller site with a reduced core team whilst managing a greater organisational workload.

Project included developing enhanced policies and procedures and a new IT system, whilst operational responsibilities included finance, funding, communications, HR, IT & administration.

A particular project highlight was to work with our partner projects in India, especially Tenali, where I managed the building of ‘Hope House’, an HIV hospice for the dalats or ‘untouchables’.

  • Project design & management
  • Operational design & management
  • Financial management & cost control

Completion

Niche interior design and architecture practice.

Alongside initial business plan advice, this long term project involved the operational set-up of easy-to-use processes and operational structures, including ongoing financial management, marketing and project support.

  • Business planning
  • Operational design & management
  • Financial management & cost control
  • Project management
  • Marketing
www.completion-group.com

Radical

High growth marketing and change consultancy.

Delivered internal business transformation programme, including corporate rebranding, associate consultant programme and new finance and IT infrastructure.

  • Operational design & management
  • Financial management & cost control
  • Project management

IBM Consulting Group

Global business consulting practice.

Led integration of marketing and customer strategy (Customer Value Management) into business transformation projects across multiple internal divisions and external clients.

  • Led team to develop IBM Consulting Group’s European supply chain consulting strategy, including value proposition, organisational structure and potential acquisitions
  • Redesigned key IBM product distribution strategy within highly sensitive pan-European business partner network to safeguard £200m+ sales channel
  • Designed and led customer segmentation and management strategy for Barclays Offshore
www.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/strategy

ARC Consultancy Projects

Independent marketing and business consultancy.

Watermark - Development of strategic alternatives as part of business strategy review for this global product design company. The project involved product and market analysis (current and potential), skills gap assessment and competitive advantage / value proposition proposal.

Enviros - Designed and led strategic marketing project for an environmental consultancy to support post-acquisition merger of multiple consultancies. The project included customer segmentation, market analysis, development of strategic options and internal and external communications outline.

QinetiQ - Project managed £7m communications programme for the £600m transfer to public ownership of QinetiQ (ex-Government defence agency). Included management of 20-30 consultants, associates and agencies across marketing and change management disciplines.

British Trade International - Led customer mapping project for BTI (Government trade promotion organisation), involving customer analysis and segmentation as part of CRM-based business reorganisation.

KTS Owens Thomas - Post-merger corporate reorganisation and management development support. Led marketing input into overall strategy, including customer analysis, key account management and new business strategy.

Council for British Teachers - Advised CfBT in the development of their communications programme to support the delivery of the Key Stage 3 national strategy, providing market research and strategic guidance.

International Management Development Academy - Created and implemented a marketing strategy for IMDA, a struggling educational organisation, resulting in its eventual successful buy-out.

ARC has worked on a number of different projects, ranging from small consultancy assignments to two-year interim positions.
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Contact

If you would like to discuss a project with Alexis and how ARC can assist your business, please use the form below or contact Alexis directly on +44 (0)7900 582 738.

Thank you for your enquiry, we’ll be in touch at the earliest opportunity.

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