Episode
32
Chris Hayward, NMBS, from Teenage Trainee to CEO of a £2.2bn Business
Summary
Transcript
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Chris Hayward spent 47 years at one company. He joined NMBS in 1977 as a teenage trainee on £18.50 a week and stepped down last year as chief executive of a co-operative transacting £2.2bn a year for over 1,200 independent merchants.
He joins host Jamie Hamer to explain how a buying society actually works, why he put his people before his customers, and how NMBS moved to the cloud four weeks before COVID and built its own offshore insurer so a downturn could never pull his members' credit. He is candid on the collapse of Troy, on his biggest regret, and on why only 20% of a builder's day is ever planned.
About NMBS
NMBS is a buying society for independent builders', plumbing, timber and hardware merchants. Founded in 1963 by twelve merchants and owned by its members, the Leicester-based co-operative aggregates the purchasing power of more than 1,200 independents and 500 suppliers, transacting over £2.2bn a year.
Jamie Hamer
Host, Retail is Detail Podcast
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