5 Minutes with a BVAA Board Member

Q1: What do you do for your own company?

My current role is ‘Global Product Manager – Service & Aftermarkets.’ Within this role I am responsible for owning the future vision of Rotork’s service and aftermarket offerings to the industry.

Q2: What do you do on the BVAA Board?

My role on the Board is to add specific subject matter expertise for the Future Leaders Programme. I have also recently taken on the lead responsibility for the Association’s publications. By working with the other Board members we collectively strive to bring value to the C.200 member companies.

Q3: What was it that first drew you to the BVAA?

My first interaction with the BVAA was when I attended a valve training course. It was at this point that I realised the vast technical resource potential that the Association had to offer both its members as well as the wider industry.

Q4: What was it that inspired you to join BVAA’s board?

During the Future Leaders Programme, we were lucky enough to have a presentation from the BVAA Chairman, Colin Findlay. This inspired me to firstly learn more about the BVAA Board and secondly to enquire if there was something that I could do to add value to the Association by adding a different generation’s view to senior Association discussions.

Q5: What would you say to someone thinking of joining the BVAA membership?

I would say to absolutely do it! The benefits of being a BVAA member are not always immediately obvious and tangible, but they are certainly many. To be part of the BVAA is to also be a more integrated part of the industry. There are multiple events and opportunities for networking, which have often yielded mutual benefit.

Q6: What do you think is the Association’s best service?

I feel that the best attribute of the BVAA is its ability to create networks of technical expertise from multiple companies. These networks then form working groups that put aside commercial competition for the benefit of the valve and actuator industry as a whole. It’s this form of collaborative working that really makes the BVAA a holistically beneficial Association for its members.

Q7: Which service do you think members don’t use enough?

There are many valuable services offered by the BVAA that don’t get enough take-up. This is something that I am aiming to address for the Board via my involvement in the Association’s publications. The key service that Is most underutilised is that of the industry reports and forecasts that the BVAA commissions each year. These are fantastic resources for all levels of commercial involvement in a member’s company, but don’t often get the download numbers we would like to see.

Q8: If you could introduce a new service, what would it be?

With an ever-changing political landscape, the link between our industry and political restrictions is greater than ever. Whilst it’s important that the BVAA remains an impartial industry body, I feel the inclusion of political policy advice services is something that would help member companies to better understand what is and isn’t possible.

Q9: Which service would you drop?

The strength of the BVAA sits with its ability to serve a large number of membership companies on a wide variety of different topics, our so-called ‘smorgasbord’. I therefore don’t think there’s a particular deliverable that should be dropped. A beneficial move would instead be to consolidate certain lesser-known services together to deliver the benefit we intended.

Q10: What should the BVAA of the Future look like?

The future of the BVAA is one where all membership companies are both equally represented and involved in the Association’s activities. This will allow the BVAA to build on its strong foundations, whilst also reacting to market changes where our members need the most support. There should also be a focus on the development and inclusion of the industry’s future leaders into the Board activities, to help deliver the benefits of multigenerational involvement.

Published: 18th February 2020