New manager appointed to Glendale’s contract with Scottish Power Energy Networks

Neil Lloyd joined Glendale in December 2014 as general manager of the utility arboriculture contract with Scottish Power Energy Networks in North Wales and the Anglesey grounds maintenance contract.

Having previously worked as operations manager for Biffa Municipal on their refuse, recycling and street cleansing contract for the Isle of Anglesey County Council, Neil holds experience in managing people, vehicles and equipment. His role was varied and reactive and required innovative thinking:

“I managed 120 members of staff and over 45 vehicles of varying size and type. I was responsible for the health and safety management of operations and I allocated teams to tasks and planned cleansing and recycling routes in the most efficient way possible. The reactive part of the job was when there was a breakdown or accident as we had to innovate and utilise other vehicles and staff members to complete the daily schedules within the time frame of the contract.”

Neil will now manage a total of 40 individuals including arborists, surveyors, grounds maintenance operatives and administrative staff. He will be entering an entirely new industry and applying his knowledge and experience of management in new areas:

“I have no experience whatsoever of the arboriculture industry. The most experience I’ve had with trees is when I’m playing golf, and with the way I play, I come across plenty during a round!”

Neil decided on a career change and accepted his new role at Glendale in order to gain more responsibility and concentrate more on the financial side of the business whilst maintaining a close relationship with daily operations.

He is already looking to the future and has placed contract learning at the forefront of his thinking:

“My main goal for the first three to six months is to learn as much as possible about the SPEN contract to ensure we maximise its potential and identify any opportunities. We will be working towards a renewal of the contract for 2016 so it is going to be a very busy year.”