MEET: SIMON CLEARY

We caught up with Simon Cleary, Head of Operations, to chat to him about his Greene King journey so far, leading on one of our AOP (Annual Operating Plan) projects and recently being announced as a finalist for ‘Best Leadership’ story at the Pride of Greene King Awards

Simon, tell us a little bit about yourself…

I’ve been with Greene King for about 18-months now. I’ve got a broad history in food and drinks companies (Heineken, Diageo, SHS), but my heart is in the On Trade. I love the variety, the dynamism, the people and, dare I say, the challenges. Outside of work, I live with my partner, Karen, in Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham. She is a head teacher. If ever I think work is tough, I remember the daily challenges she faces. I’m really proud of what she does, it’s remarkable! I love sport, both playing and watching. Football, golf, snooker, darts, mountain biking and others. I’m a season ticket holder at West Brom, too. Oh, and I’ve got a big birthday this year. Come celebrate my 30th with me! :-)

Can you talk to us about what your role as Head of Operations entails?

Well, it’s the most diverse role I’ve ever had. I lead the contact centres in both Bury St Edmunds and Dunbar – about 40 people. The teams are a critical interface between Greene King and our customers and they do a great job of ensuring we offer our customers great service, and resolve issues when we don’t. The Commercial Operations team also report to me. This team is mainly internally focussed ensuring that our people, our systems and our processes work together to help our sales team, mainly, work most effectively. And, finally, I am the business lead on the Modular CRM project. If we implement this successfully, I genuinely believe it will be game-changing for our business. It will help ensure our customers’ experience of Greene King is world class, but also provide better tools for our teams to make a difference on a daily basis. I’ve only just taken on the Head of Operations role, and If I’m honest, I’m still learning how to do it. But, that’s okay and perfectly normal.

You are leading the CRM project as part of our annual operating plan this year, how is that going so far?

We are in what we call the Discovery Phase at the moment– so we are in the early days of the project. We are currently working to ensure we have a clear understanding of the capabilities we require in order for Greene King to be successful now and in the future. We will then seek to make sure that our new systems and processes facilitate the delivery of this. I’ve been involved in a few projects like this – it is critical that we get this bit right! Mistakes now are difficult to unpick in the future.

Congratulations on being announced as the finalist for ‘Best Leadership Story’ in the Pride of Greene King Awards, you must be chuffed?

Yeah, it was a really nice surprise. I’d like to think I made a positive difference last year, but so did lots of my colleagues. And, as we all know, it’s a team effort!