A step to the rank of Emeritus for the President of the Institute of Couriers. Lord Falkland, founding President of the Institute, received a golden ticket of thanks with his move to President Emeritus. Hon Fellow, director of the City of London Corporation, Catherine Dwyer had facilitated the golden ticket. The IOC presented, via Sir Peter Hendy, the golden ticket granting permission to Lord Falkland to operate, open and close Tower Bridge. A standing ovation of fellows for their founding President sang, ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow…’
IOC chairman, Carl Lomas MBE welcomed guests from Dept For Education, Dept for Transport, TfL and TfGM, FORS, IoD, MCIA and AELP.
‘We have the brand-new boss of the Royal Logistics Corps British Forces Post Office, Kamaljeet McKinley and the Master Carmen, Colonel Simon Bennett here this evening.
Peter Binham, TfL & FORS is worthy of special mention as today he was at Guildhall to swear oath of freeman of the City of London, he is heading Liveryman of the Carmen.
Former RLC Brigadier, one of our own fellows, Allstair Deas is in the fellows' line this evening.
Both of our most recent keynote round table speakers for employment status are also here - Alan Lewis and Melanie Stancliffe.’
Traffic Commissioner Sarah Bell spoke with motivation before introducing the 2020 honorary fellows.
A Life Services gown to Alistair Cochrane drew a standing ovation, Alistair celebrated with fellow life services winners Kate Lester and Adrian Smith as the golden hoods wowed the expert focus of the express sector.
IOC Chair, Carl Lomas opened the event with a look at the agenda for client chain final mile.
Parcel volumes continue to explode. Projects of the IOC include understanding the perception of value of free delivery. The IOC big ticket agenda items for 2020 include employment status, education & clean air. Employment status saw 120 thousand vans represented at our Heads of Industry table, Constantine Law partner, Alan Lewis is with us this evening. Education, the L2 driver apprenticeship is ready and Tracy Aust from West Thames is here to talk delivery opportunities while Vice-Chancellor Peter John of UWL has a date ready to start the very first Express Manager degree candidates at West London this year. Clean Air: IOC is proud to chair the TfL LoCITY group and with equality IOC chief exec Tracey Worth signs the race charter with Sandra Kerr CBE tonight.
Address by Tracey Worth, chief executive of the IoC. the Institute has become a family of the courier sector, a truly expanding and evolving sector.
From last year's February heatwave to this year's floods and virus outbreak. The one constancy remains the resilience of express logisticians to deliver final mile. This evening is about those individuals, those who have stepped forward to be recognised as individual fellows of the Institute. With the common goals of best practice and excellence in developing and promoting the sector of final mile, express delivery and courier. Two honorary fellows- road safety and education with Highways England CEO, Jim OSullivan alongside Vice-Chancellor of the University of West London, Peter John CBE and the first starts for the new degree apprenticeship in Express Management.
The 2020 ceremonial fellows in alphabetical order
Allan Blakeley, Tuffnells
Michael Boulton, Whistl
Lisa Clark, Swift Logistics
Alan Dickenson, Hermes
Vince Dignam, City of London Corporation
Chris Floyd, DPD
Will Friar, Rush Worldwide
Rhian Grundy, Hermes
Monika Haromszeki, Hermes
Mark Holland, Hermes
Lee Jackman, Smith News
Chris Jones, Tuffnells
Bob Mortimer, Smith News
Tim Seagers, Crown Couriers
Darren Taylor, CitySprint
Mark Wilkes, DPD
Andy Wilson, FedEX
also Sgt Simon Miller RLC becomes an honorary associate member for 2020
individual fellows' nominations and presentation photos follow after the gallery
higher resolution images are available for download in the photo bank
Gallery
Sir Peter Hendy accepts the Golden Ticket for Lord Falkland from Carolyn Dwyer, with Sarah Bell (R)
A full house in the Cholmondley Room at the House of Lords
Guests at the 2020 Gowning
Tuffnells fellows Allan Blakeley and Chris Jones with Lee Jackman (centre)
2020 fellows and Tuffnells guests
Hermes fellows Mark Holland, Rhian Grundy and Allan Dickenson
2020 Fellows nominations
Allan Blakeley
A who’s who list of courier companies Alan has shown his passion and dedication for this sector. Parceline, ANC, FedEx, Geidos and now the Operations Director of Tuffnells. Allan balances close control with autonomy, he has gained significant respect from employees, peers and the wider sector alike.
Alan’s skills reflect his leadership success within his company and the good affect rippling into our wider industry. Leadership that nurtures others to succeed is a positive contribution that Allan gives to his company and to this sector. He is a man that can and does deliver!
Michael Boulton
Michael Boulton knew when he made the change from Print distribution in 1998 that express delivery would be his career. From City Link Manger to DHL Head of Domestic and UK Express to The Delivery Group Head of E-Commerce and on to the powerhouse of Whistl UK.
Michael has made positive and constructive benefits in each of the roles he has held. Strategic Development Manager, Corporate Sales Director and his current role as Director International. His commitment and dedication of empowering the customer to ensure a great delivery has been managed through his focused control and ownership of responsibility he embeds at every level.
Lisa Clark
Starting out from school with Lloyds Bank, Lisa Clark may not have expected to be here today, but her career very quickly saw her excel in our sector. Gazelle Logistics, Poste Haste, QA Logistics, Air Sea Logistic Heathrow, CTS Government Logistics, CitySprint and today Group Commercial Manager for Swift Logistics. ’more experience than the proverbial shaken stick’ I am confidently advised.
Having worked across many sectors, there is nothing Lisa enjoys more than working with clients to achieve the best solutions for their distribution needs. Sales roles over the years have given Lisa the opportunity to network with like-minded, talented individuals and be able to share knowledge for the benefit of everyone. Lisa believes it is a privilege to work in this sector.
Alan Dickenson
Early days of punting on the river Cam as a chauffeur, guide and site manager opened Alan’s eyes to the grass roots of last mile delivery and customer feedback not easily enticed he changed direction for a short time before re-joining the flow of last mile delivery in 2012.
Gravitating to the grass root commitment of customer satisfaction he stayed in the East of England as a field manager then regional manager working up to the role of Assistant Divisional manage at Hermes. Caring about and working with his team Alan showed how to lead and bring out the best in everyone leading to a new role as Network Manager for Operations. More recently in 2018 he changed his job role to proudly manage 2000+ couriers and drivers across London as Divisional Manger London North.
Vince Dignam
Vince started as an Apprentice and knows only too well the impact this makes on not just a young person’s life but anyone who takes up the apprenticeship challenge at any time in their career. It is one of the highlights of Vince’s career that he can now re-introduce apprenticeships in his current role as Business performance and Transport Manger to the City of London.
Vince’s experience as a mechanic provided a foundation of transport knowledge used throughout his career. Skilfully driving the challenges of government transport operations management and Team Leadership in delivering the needs of all things transport for the City of London. He passionately supports all those who works within his own organisation and that of the wider industry as Chairman of the FORS executive group and chairman of the British Industry Truck association.
Chris Floyd
Chris is an individual who relishes a challenge and, since 2004 when he arrived at DPD as a class one driver, Chris has taken on every challenge and almost every role within the department up to and since 2015 as DPD General Manager. The passion in which he leads his team has been acknowledged by the success of the Road Safety Team and Electric vehicle driver training and he continues to expand his job responsibilities to include accident investigation, driver CPC and the parochial care for employees and their families.
Having achieved personal successes of climbing to Everest base camp and sail powered the Atlantic, he considers his greatest achievement to be climbing Snowdon to propose to his lovely wife Naomi. Well, we at the IOC don’t mind coming second to your wife Chris, but hope that this honour will rank high in your personal achievements.
Will Friar
Will was but a teenager when he joined our industry and it has had him captivated ever since. London Dispatch Rider for A-Z Couriers, DeWynters and West End despatch saw the foundation of a truly motivated and passionate career. His caring, patient and diligent persistence boded well for his role as Operations, Account and Recruitment manager at City Swift Couriers; starting when the company had just been formed, Will was crucial to its success.
Will’s passion continued to see success for Rush Worldwide in his role as key account manager. Pioneering negotiation and dispute resolution to ensure ‘high profile’ clients were serviced with a can-do attitude that delivered. Will leads by example showing that anything and everything is possible with the right people working together.
Rhian Grundy
'Be customer-obsessed' is a mantra for Rhian, everything you do is to serve the customer. Rhian, nominated in 2019 and finalist for Everywoman in Logistics knows only too well that dedication to serve the customer will bring success
Using her early customer services skills and putting them to the test in last mile delivery Rhian has gone from strength to strength and currently holds the role of Divisional Manager South for Hermes UK. Her dedication has brought her skills and experience to flourish in this role and allows her to nurture new talents of those whom she works with. Helpful, caring yet focused in her delivery of what is needed to be customer obsessed Rhian provides inspiration for others to follow.
Monika Haromszeki
Monika proudly holds the honour of a President's nomination for Fellow from her 2019 National Courier Awards nomination. A recognition fully deserved. Her career started post-millennium when, as a warehouse operative, she joined DHL. Her success and passion to do things right was recognised as she took on new roles as transport clerk, team leader, supervisor, shift manager and finally operations support manager.
Final mile delivery is well and truly her passion as she took up a new challenge at Hermes as Regional Delivery manager and currently as Regional Planner. Her skills and continued development within our sector benefit her own organisation and those she inspires. Monika has proven her passion and commitment for our sector.
Mark Holland
Mark learnt that the customer is always right very early on in his career as he started out at McDonalds. A training ground for understanding customer demands, on the spot decisions and fast delivery of goods. Express delivery was definitely being nurtured and when the opportunity arose to move into final mile delivery Mark took it and joined Hermes as Regional Manager.
Mark’s leadership acknowledges the challenges but doesn’t stop Mark believing the company has to be ‘right for the customer’ so he took the challenge of compliance manager and that led to his current role as Regional Manager. He brings passion and leadership to his organisation.
Lee Jackman
An extraordinary school developing purposeful leaders is the claim of Said Business School in Oxford. Lee will know this as he attended this business school and this quote is as applicable to Lee. Lee is a purposeful leader whose career crosses over two companies, but with many successful job roles throughout. Royal Mail – Transport, planning, senior performance and operations manager. Then in 2013 Head of Delivery Performance. No small feat being responsible for seven team sectors and an operating budget of £212m.
Then a passionate move to Tuffnells, Lee very quickly moving from area distribution manager to Regional Operations Director, North. The North describes 4 areas of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man as well as his home area of Newcastle and has benefited from his leadership and support of his teams especially raising the profile both compliance and safety with daily focus. An extraordinary leader.
Chris Jones
Chris has always had passion for his career, early Army infantry training gave Chris the foundation of working as a team. Warehouse team leader, Project manager, operations manager and then Distribution Manager for Tesco. The culmination of all these job roles led him in 2015 to become head of Tesco Primary Distribution. Customer service and last mile delivery was perfect and Chris thrived.
Never letting go of wanting to do more, Chris took the opportunity of joining Connect Group as Regional Director in 2018. Taking commercial responsibility to deliver key team leadership training in health and safety alongside the harmonisation of warehouse to transportation whilst modernising the pay role challenges for the group. Chris heartily delivers the final mile.
Bob Mortimer
Robert Mortimer’s career path is well-worn, from the early start at Parceline as a field transport manager he has delivered the last mile every day since. Responsibilities similar in most cases, but the difference was Bob. Plying his skill, dedication and application of learning, from CPC to Certificate of Professional Management, Bob is keen to nurture learning of himself and for others.
Parceline, Interlink Express, DPD and Hermes. Bob has taken grip of each job role, deconstructed the issue and reignited the spark that everyone needs to do better, to give more for the customer. Bob is a strong natural leader and has the ability to leverage change with transactional smoothness that delivers.
Tim Seagers
Her Majesty’s first service is the Royal Navy from which Tim Seagers proudly started his career. Not two years after leaving HM Service and having gained sales experience, Tim started Crown Couriers in 1990. Developing a local focus to a genuine nationwide sameday supplier. An independent owner-operator. During the past 12 years Tim has developed a board of directors with particular emphasis on expanding marketing and technology activities for the benefit of the customer.
Tim has established the culture at Crown Couriers on integrity and honesty with employees, suppliers and customers and the future growth of the company will never compromise these core values. Tim has applied his early career discipline to become an exemplary supportive leader.
Darren Taylor
Darren started his career at the busiest station in the UK. Red Star Parcels, Paddington, a service very familiar to our sector with the last mile delivery from a train station across the UK. The demise of this service was the start of Darren’s love with last mile delivery. Moving on to a new challenge at CitySprint, Darren started as a Regional Manager in 1997.
Describing Darren’s career from 1997 is meteoric, his skills to influence, understand, implement, improve and execute the leadership and professional knowledge required to influence a positive outcome has seen him take on the roles of General Manager, Chief Development Officer for CitySprint and On the Dot technologies and is currently the Business Solutions Director for CitySprint. A hands-on business leader.
Mark Wilkes
Mark Wilkes may have been in the industry for over 30 years, but his impact on his company, the wider industry and the people who work with him is simply outstanding. Starting at Parceline as an engineering supervisor, then Hub Manager, the company and Mark have gone through many changes.
Mark has continued to work with excellence as his standard, through technical knowledge, professional application and creativity, his career has been rapid from General Manager to Director of Technical Services at DPD. As one of the most influential directors at DPD Mark’s quality of leadership delivers the infrastructure required for the future of the sector at an unprecedented pace of delivery.
Andy Wilson
Last but not least, with over 30 years in our sector, Andy is proud to be last mile delivery through and through. Starting with the TNT brand and with orange running through his veins Andy held the post of Depot Manager up to 2016. We know in our sector to be depot manager and make such a success of it takes some doing.
Andy exudes quiet confidence that others benefit from, his aura of knowledge and experience gives direction and strength for others to raise their game and to do better. Inspiring leadership and a steady hand at the helm has steered Andy through the massive changes our sector has thrown at him over the years. Now he has taken on the task of making sure others benefit from his knowledge, passing on the passion, inspiration and the dedication that is needed to be truly a last mile delivery professional as the City Logistics Manager for TNT - soon to be FedEX.
Honorary Associate Member for 2020
Sgt Simon Miller
With new Fellows gowned here tonight having come from the Royal Navy and the Army, it is a pleasure to invite Sgt Simon Miller to be awarded with his Honorary Membership.
Sgt Miller is a reservist, covering both civilian and military roles in logistics. He is dedicated to duty, but with a twist of innovation; never shy of encouraging others to do better, he will work tirelessly to ensure his commitment to attend logistics training and assist others in doing so.
He is a dedicated individual who has risen through the ranks. His professional skills never in doubt, Sgt Miller has gained success due to his attitude and positive contribution he makes to the regiment as much as his skill capability.
Sgt Miller proudly represents those who commit to our sector in a civilian role and also serve Her Majesty the Queen.