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Director Focus
director
focus Sailor Chris puts Hounslow firms on the right track
It’s fair to say that Chris Greenwood has enjoyed an unusual, eclectic career. Previously he was the managing director of Brentford-based MAPMECHANICS, a company that specialises in mapping and logistics optimisation for businesses around the world. In November 2017 he sold the business and since then he has been sailing across the Atlantic in his boat, Sea Candy.
Chris says: “We spend the winters sailing around the Caribbean, which is great. The COVID crisis had an effect on us though. We ended up in quarantine in Granada this year, at a time when the hurricane season was coming. We sailed without stopping to Martinique, a Caribbean island that’s part of the Lesser Antilles and an overseas region of France. When we arrived, due to quarantine rules we weren’t allowed to touch land, so we moored and got a taxi straight to the airport. It was an interesting time!”
The word “interesting” doesn’t begin to describe Chris’ career. After studying physics, he took a research degree in plasma fusion and then joined PerkinElmer, a US biotechnology company, to develop a range of analytical instrumentation. At MAPMECHANICS his skills in innovation and the application of technology to mapping and logistics have been instrumental in the company’s success. Chris has also managed a number of significant key sales including the introduction of a new mapping system for Experian and a sophisticated prescription and drug delivery solution for Boots.
On top of that, he’s a citizen scientist who conducts research into eel migration.
Chris says: “Eels are born in the Sargasso Sea and they end up somewhere in western Europe. With the industrialisation of rivers, they get to weirs and there’s nowhere for them to go. The Environment Agency has installed eel ladders to address this problem; they are a type of fish ladder designed to help eels swim past barriers, such as dams and weirs or even natural barriers, to reach upriver feeding. One day I counted about 3,500 eels in the River Brent. Other rivers have about ten. It’s a proper scientific experiment.”
Chris’ relationship with Hounslow Chamber of Commerce started about eight or nine years ago, when he was driving forward the success of MAPMECHANICS.
Since working with the Hounslow business community, Chris has been impressed with its resilience and diversity.
He says: “Hounslow has an issue in that it has an overdependence on Heathrow Airport. Until flying and international travel gets going again, that’s going to be a problem in the short term.
“That said, there are lots of innovative small companies in the borough and that’s helping to broaden the scope and capability of the business community. I met with one company that uses artificial intelligence to determine whether children need to go into care or not – how innovative is that?
“Working with Alan, Sally and the team at Hounslow Chamber has been brilliant. They are forward-thinking and proactive and they go the extra mile to ensure that local businesses are supported. This has been particularly important in the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses have really needed some guidance. I’m proud to be a director of Hounslow Chamber and will do all I can to support businesses as they come through the COVID crisis.”
There’s a lot of growth and investment in Hounslow so that bodes well for the future. Also, the borough’s proximity to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports boosts the appeal of the borough internationally. Eventually, tourism and international travel will get going again and Hounslow will be well positioned to capitalise on this.
