Barry Epstein - Skills & Experience

Over 60 years of work including over 40 years as a “fixer”!  A progressive career in work, changes in occupation, work place and home since the 1950s affected by the external political, economic and employment opportunities that have existed in this country.  Detailed profile here

He is believed to be the oldest inductee and active practitioner of “Turnaround”, accepted as a result of long apprenticeships served in various trades and professions, driven by extraordinary circumstances and desire for career progression, rising from pushing a broom to the control room in ….

• Manufacturing – food processing, clothing
• Retailing – existing department (general merchandise, food and fast food) and multiple stores (including starting a new chain) and export
• Regulated and formerly unregulated financial services – tied agency, independent life and general brokerage, product design and distribution, specialising in clients in strained circumstances.
• Forensic discovery – identifying, uncovering, resolving fraudulent activity, general malfeasance, money laundering, financial crime, Court and HMRC advocacy as a “McKenzie Friend”.
• Social economy – i.e. the Youth Service, serving and reformed offenders’ rehabilitation, non-external profit “firms” - credit unions.

EXPERIENCE

Engagement in both the with and non-external profit engagement in these various sectors has given a deep “sharp end” operational knowledge of

• Business start-ups and strategic business development planning
• Enforced closures for a variety of reasons
• Revivals, recoveries and restructuring
• Change management
• Personnel up/downsizing, redeployment, upskilling
• Product and service procurement/disposal
• Property acquisition/disposal
• Corporate governance
• Corporate and individual social responsibility (especially commercial ways of striving to achieve the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
• 40 years of dealing with Regulators of both with and non-external profit authorised “firms”

In the with profit sector - retail, procurement and sales - experience has been gained in the USA, Canada and Europe, as well as in the non-external profit sector – credit unions and multipurpose co-operatives in USA, Thailand and Philippines, with knowledge acquired of their working in the Caribbean, Kenya, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Hong Kong and Israel.

STRENGTHS – as a fire fighter!

1. Speedy acquirer of knowledge and facts, ability to size up current and possible permutations of changing situations.
2. Not applying preconceptions
3. Very focussed, totally objective and unemotional
4. Quick to discover “the elephant in the room”, knowing how to confront it, smile at it, offer it a carrot, creep around it and carry on!
5. Courage to put the possible continuance of the corporate before any individuals in it.
6. Ability to make myself redundant as quickly as possible.

WEAKNESSES – we all have them, but too numerous to mention!