It’s time to sit down with David Gladwin, our Financial Director, to hear more about his day-to-day life at TEPS and what inspired him to get into this industry as a Financial Director.
So, David, everyone is going to want to know this one question. How long have you been working at TEPS and why have you stayed so long?
Same day as Tony Blair became Prime Minister, 2nd of June 1997. I’ve been with TEPS for 27 years now and it has flown by. The simple answer is, I like it here. It’s not like other places and even though my role is Financial Director, it’s never always just been focused entirely on finance and accounting.
I started at TEPS when Geoff Fordon was Managing Director and as most of the guys who knew Geoff would say, you just got a good feeling from the team. A lot has changed externally since I started such as 2 new warehouses and an overall growth in this industry which reflects TEPS’s can-do attitude.
So, as Financial Director, can you tell me what your main duties are?
Well as Financial Director I’m responsible for producing the internal management accounts for TEPS and giving the finance team at John Good Group our monthly accounts. I also assist with payroll for my team and reporting to HMRC.
A key part of my role is some individual projects I do on the side of my main duties. These projects are to help costs within TEPS, so looking at different ideas for our systems and solutions. It’s also imperative in this industry to monitor costs for fuel so both mine and Paul Fordon, the Managing Director, will keep an eye on this.
Can you let us know what your favourite part of working at TEPS is?
I like the bits that aren’t on my day-to-day schedule such as the people I work with. I feel very lucky to be part of TEPS, no day is ever the same and I feel happy knowing I make a difference to the company.
What inspired you to do this as your career?
In 1984, I was doing my A Levels and fell out with my art teacher and needed a new A Level that was compatible with the options I already had in my schedule, English Literature and Geography. One of the only free subjects available was economics and I jumped head-first into it and I loved it. I never thought I would like the subject or go into a career with it, but I now strongly believe all children in school should learn economics.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
One of the main challenges we face in the haulage industry is fuel costs and pricing. Potential customers want cheap services but then you have an issue with unreliability, damaged goods etc. We have very little control over how well the industry is doing so we have to move with it. However, warehousing is different to haulage, we need to predict Hull’s success for business to know how we are going to fill our warehouses. There are a lot of challenges, but we face them and always get through to the other side.
What skills would you say are crucial to the success of your role?
Humour, Loyalty, and Dependability are crucial to succeeding in this role. We have a small team here at TEPS, if someone says they can do something, we must know they are going to do it otherwise someone else needs to take on that role, disturbing their day. Everyone must care about the success of all our operations here at TEPS and gladly, I can say that everyone does.
So, a little about yourself, what do you get up to outside of work?
Well, I currently volunteer at the East Riding Theatre and give my financial knowledge help to an incredible local organisation of mine. One thing about me that people may not know is I love the arts, I have tons of records in my house in a variety of genres.
Plus, a fun fact about me is that I am a published author. I write manuscripts and short stories, and I’ve had some published. I write to keep myself learning, we always can be taught something new.
