Iain Donaldson

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT IAIN DONALDSON

I\'ve spent 30+ years working in operations and business management, and if there\'s onething I\'ve learned, it\'s that running a business well comes down to understanding what needsto happen, getting the right people in place, and staying on top of the details without losingsight of where you\'re heading.My background is probably more varied than most. I spent over 20 yrs in banking withRBS, starting in branches, working my way up to managing 12 branches with 200+ staff, andthen moving into relationship management where I looked after a portfolio of SME clientsworth around £800k in annual income. That period taught me a lot about financialmanagement, risk, and the importance of really understanding what makes a business tick.In 2017, I made a big shift and moved into fashion wholesale operations. For the past eightyears, I\'ve been running the day-to-day operations of an international business operatingacross 15 countries. That means everything from P&L management and financial controlthrough to warehouse ops, credit control, HR, supplier relationships, and making surewe\'re compliant across multiple jurisdictions. We\'ve grown from £5.4m to £9.9m turnover inthat time, and more importantly, we\'ve done it whilst improving margins and keeping servicelevels high.The role has thrown up some interesting challenges, implementing all the Brexit exportprocesses without disrupting client service, navigating COVID whilst keeping everyone safeand the business running, negotiating with suppliers to reduce costs across shipping andduty (we cut annual duty costs by 40%), and generally making sure that when you\'reoperating internationally, all the moving parts actually work together.What I\'m good at is taking operational complexity and making it manageable. Whether that\'smanaging financial performance, developing teams who can deliver, building relationshipswith suppliers and customers, or just making sure the basics are done properly day in, dayout. I\'m comfortable working independently but also know when to bring people together tosolve problems.I\'m a Chartered Banker with qualifications in lending, financial management, and mortgageadvice. I also sat on the board of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce which was a great experience.My current role is coming to an end in March due to redundancy (company closure), soI\'m looking for the next opportunity where I can put this experience to work. If you\'re lookingfor someone who can manage operations properly, understand the numbers, developpeople, and get things done without a lot of fuss, let\'s talk.