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Thursday, 9th September 2010 |
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| Graham Sutherland CFO of British Telecom on the island of Ireland is responsible for all investment decisions made by BT in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Sutherland plays an active role in meetings on a range of topics from financial performance evaluation to strategic decisions of senior management and is of the opinion that flexibility is key to surviving the difficult current economic conditions. |
06.10 am – I leave my home in Coleraine to travel the 55 minutes to our office in Belfast. If I was working in our Dublin office I would stay in Belfast overnight and leave at 5.20am the next morning to miss the traffic so I’m feeling all the better for that extra 40 minutes sleep I got! We try to use our audio and video conferencing services wherever possible to cut down on unnecessary travel, reduce costs and help the overall productivity and efficiency of the business. It also means that I don’t need as many strong cups of black coffee each morning.
07.15 am – Into the office, grab my first cup of coffee and power on the computer. Quick trawl through the headlines online before I embark on a pretty hectic schedule of meetings. I try to keep on top of international and national news so I listen to the radio in the car and scan the online news sites throughout the day.  | | Graham Sutherland |
08.00 am – I chair the investment forum where I oversee and approve all key investment decisions made by BT in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. On today’s agenda are: network capital investment; IT investment to deliver efficiency in product delivery; and investment in technology to drive energy efficiency and lower costs. Today we also look at adding a ‘Sustainability’ weighting to our capex investment template so that it becomes a consideration in our decision making moving forward. BT is the world’s top communications company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and we are consistently looking at local initiatives to progress our credentials in that area.
10.00 am – Catch up with my PA Angela and run through my calendar, appointments, invites and so on. I travel quite a bit between Dublin, Belfast and London, as well as other offices we have on the island. I try, usually in vain, to get the work/life balance right as much as possible so I don’t attend as many after work events as I could.
10.30 am – The Ireland leadership team’s weekly meeting, chaired by the CEO. We operate as an all island operation and in all market segments – consumer, small and medium businesses, large corporates and public sector, and wholesale – so lots to update each other on including key operating metrics of each business unit, sales, customer service, learning and development and so on. We also get an update on the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition which we organise and sponsor. We’ve had a record number of entries for 2009 and from all 32 countries which is great news given our level of investment in what is one of the largest events of its kind in the world.
11.30 am – Next up is our monthly operating reviews with each business unit. Today it’s the wholesale operating review. Chaired by the CEO and myself, we cover financial performance versus budgets/forecasts, marketing campaigns, competitor analysis and insight with the senior members of the Wholesale division. This monthly session is always focused on challenging the team and driving for improved performance. Many people don’t realise the extent of our wholesale business on the island, and contracts we have with companies like 3 for whom we build and manage their 3G network.
1.30 pm – I have a 30 minute window for lunch so despite my best intentions I need to dine at my desk – again. So much for the regime of healthy living I am trying to adhere to.
2.00 pm - I catch up with my team at the weekly finance leadership meeting and we discuss debtors/cash performance, progress against financial metrics and key commercial actions to drive improved profit/cash performance and any HR issues. The current economic downturn is a challenge for all industries and the ICT sector isn’t immune to this crisis or to lower consumer and business confidence. We haven’t seen a major negative impact to date but we are very much focused on running our business as efficiently as possible, and having the flexibility to adapt and adjust as the climate changes.
3.00 pm – Videoconference with the chief financial officer of BT Retail who is based in our London office. We review the financial performance of the all island business and discuss key strategic issues impacting the business i.e. economy, labour market, etc. We also run through the latest financial forecasts and upcoming customer opportunities.
4.00 pm – Sales bid sign off meeting with the MD of our Business division to run through a major sales opportunity, discuss design and solution of the project, pricing and competition for the deal and of course the financials and profitability.
4.30 pm – Back to the desk to prepare presentation for the senior management team (SMT) forum we hold on a quarterly basis. This is a really good opportunity to get all senior managers together to run through strategic priorities, cost transformation, business plans and important HR related areas such as performance management and talent development. We finish off with an informal chat over a glass of wine and a bite to eat.
5.30 pm – BT has a mentor programme in place to allow employees to benefit from coaching from more senior members. I catch up with one of my mentees to see how her development plans are doing. We are part of a very fast paced and dynamic industry, and operate in over 170 countries, so there are very good opportunities for employees who want to advance and move around.
6.45 pm – Leave for home to enjoy some time with my children before they go to bed. Lots of late nights this week so already looking forward to my weekend. |
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