Brian Marks

With over 20 years’ experience in owner-managed and publicly-quoted companies and the not-for-profit sector, Brian has provided solutions to fast evolving businesses, especially in change management. Brian uses strong intra-personal skills to support departments as business changes around them; he has the ability to review problems, rectify weak departmental communications, resolve failing teamwork, set targets and provide a structured framework for delivery.

Brian’s ability to support business by providing effective and timely management information and maintain open lines of communication between the businesses and partners has helped businesses either grow or sometimes survive.

His early commercial experience was in a successful fashion company as the financial controller developing financial reporting systems. He then moved on to a family-owned group of opticians overseeing the businesses transformation from a partnership to a group structure with each partner being issued shares in the business. This business was later sold with the partners increasing their net worth considerably.

During a period of four years of rapid growth as head of finance at Chrysalis Books, Brian was instrumental in integrating the owner-managed business to meet the requirements of a public company, setting up a group restructure as the business acquired five further businesses increasing turnover from £5m to over £32m, setting up divisional cost centres, introducing a simplified reporting structure, and reorganising the group treasury function.

Brian has spent the past six years as an interim FC and change management consultant restructuring business and supporting businesses undergoing change.

Over the past three years, Brian has undertaken various interim FC roles for clients of FD Solutions, where his workload has included:

• correcting poor accounting system implementations
• regaining control of cash flow management
• improving monthly management account reporting
• strengthening internal controls
• resolve breakdowns accounting systems
• improving credit department functions
• building relationships with companies’ bankers and suppliers
• building relationships with third-party external auditors
• providing induction, training and handover to newly-appointed staff.