ERSONOFTHE YEAR 2023 S PERSON OF THE

Lesley Hollandisdescribedasan exceptionaland inspirationalleader

Shehas been managing director of Juniper Training at Hilton CrossBusinessPark, near Wolverhampton, since2015.

Thetrainingsolutions provider is celebratingits 20thanniversary as Juniperthisyear

It hasgrown from 10 to 24 trainingcentresand from 110to185 staffduringLesley’scontroland now supports around 2,000studentseachyear.

Shehas workedher waythrough the organisation from projectofficertomanagingdirectorand has created aprogressive andtransparent business culture.

Herjourney within thetraining industry started in 2002 at Carver Training –Juniper’s previous name.The companyquickly realisedher potentialand offeredher ateamleaderroleonthe ‘Making Learning Work’programme,workingclosely with schoolstosupport young people whohad sporadic attendance issues andwereatriskof becoming NEET (Not in Employment,Education or Training).

In 2003,she waspromotedto trainingcentre managerinWalsall

In 2006,her promotion to area manager of Tamworth office involvedmanagingacluster of trainingcentres whodelivered the Government’s ‘New Deal’ programmes.

In 2007 shewas promotedto head of HR andquality,studied andachievedher Level7Degree in HumanResourcesin2009 and then became director of HR,quality andcurriculum.

In herroleasMD, Lesley has supportedthe business with a management buy-out, as theprevi- ousowner retiredinMarch 2020

Despite thecountry goingintoits firstever lockdown,Lesley’sinspirationalmanagementstyle and strategicdirection enabledthe companytosurvive Lesley hasconsulted allstaff on many toughdecisions that have hadtobemade, especially during andsince Covid-19.Anexample of this is when it wasagreedtoreduce working hoursratherthan have furtherredundancies

SincetakingoverasMD shehas successfullyturnedthe business around,encouraging andmotivating herteamand sharingher wealth of knowledge andexperience

Sheisknownasthe fountofall knowledgeand carriesthe nickname ‘the Oracle’.

Sheconstantlyencourages and supports staff’scontinuousdevelopment of growth andrecord salesatthat time.Hebecamemanagingdirectorin2017and ledthe company throughthe Covid-19 pandemic andtorecord yearsfor both volumeand revenue in 2021 and2022.

He hashand-picked astrong senior management teamwhich he coachedand developed to steerthe business through turbulent times, such as Brexit,Covid-19and the driver shortage

Mr Gittenshas developed keyrelationshipswiththe morethan130 membersofthe network.

He worksclosely with thewider team at Palletways,atbothasenior leveland on thehub floor, to listenand supportinall areasofthe business offering hissuggestions andperspectiveswhilst taking in ideasand situations

Mr Gittensisafoundingmemberofthe industry body Association of Pallet Networks wherehe regularlyprovidessectordirection andleadership in keyareas such as health andsafetyand operations

In 2022,Palletwayslauncheda world-firstfor thegloballogistics industry –a technologicalinnovation that takesoperational efficiency,healthand safety within pallet-focusedenvironmentsto newlevels.

Theinnovation, called Palletways ID,isthe world’s most sophisticatedforklifttruck-mountedsensortechnologyand is settomake existing stand-alonepalletassessment andmeasuring technology obsolete,asitcombinesfourkey data measurementsinone go Theinnovationcameabout when Mr Gittensidentified theneedfor data to be gathered on everypallet that travelsthrough thenetwork, whilst improvingthe health and safety of pallet handlers andimprovingefficiency

BillyHutchinson, managing directorofLesters PackagingCompany, hascreated one of theMidlands fastest-growingmanufacturers whichhas wonseveral business awards inrecent years.

The40-year-old companyin Mount Road, Burntwood employs more than50and is adisruptive forceinlarge packaging, providing millionsofcorrugated boxes, large format packagingand heavy-duty cases annually

Underthe leadership of Mr Hutchinson, Lestershas continued to push theboundariesofinnovation when it comestopackaging over thelasttwo years, andthis hasseenits double turnover from £6 million in 2021 to £13m last year

Thanks to thevisionofthe Wolverhampton-born entrepreneur, a £7m, three-yearinvestmentstrategyinthe latest machinery and technology hasbeenimplemented andLesters is on course to hit £25m salesthisyear, whichwill requireanadditional20people, taking the highly skilled workforce to morethan70.

Lestershas also invested £100,000 in creating its‘Recycle’ offering thatsells usedcardboard boxestoexistingand newclients lookingfor agreener andmore cost-effective wayoftransporting theirproducts.

Lesterstoday is afar cryfrom thecompany’s originswhenBilly Hutchinson’snamesake and grandfatherwas driving around selling products in theBlack Countrybackinthe 1970s.

Mr Hutchinson, whostarted workonthe shopfloorat16,is an imaginative andinspirational managerwho is notafraidtotake bravedecisions. Back in 2020, he instigated acomplete rebrandthat movedthe business away from simply beingapackagingcompany into an end-to-end solution providerfor movinggoodsaroundthe country.

This wastough,asthe brand hadbeenestablished by hisfather andwas alreadysuccessful.

However,inorder to achievethe growth he wanted,heknewthat theproject hadtobecompleted andin2021SLesterPacking MaterialsbecameLesters

Freshideas andwaysofworking have been integrated into thecompany andrun alongside newbusiness software that is transforming theway the firm is run.

Hisinfluencecontinues outside of theLesters andhehas forged strategicallianceswithsome of the largestequipment suppliersinthe packagingworld

Mr Hutchinsonhas also become aspokesman forthe industry