25 years | Ian Needham’s journey from Depot Manager to MD

From joining A-Plant as a Depot Manager in 2001 to leading our Accommodation business today, Ian Needham, our Managing Director of Accommodation, has built an incredible 25-year career with us. It’s a journey that has included significant change, major milestones and even a few Saturday mornings spent painting cabins.

We caught up with Ian to look back at where it all began, the experiences that have shaped his career and what he has learnt along the way.

Taking a chance

There’s a part of Ian’s career journey that might surprise a few. Long before joining our business, his working life began on a Youth Training Scheme as a storeman and his next placement took him to a privately owned utility contractor, where his experiences helped shape his approach to work, progression and leadership.

Fast forward to 2001, and Ian was living in South Yorkshire while working for Scottish and Southern Energy in Perth, Scotland. When a friend told him about a Depot Manager vacancy at our Accommodation depot in Boroughbridge, it presented an opportunity to take his career in a new direction, with the added benefit of a much shorter commute.

With no real background in hire beyond being a customer himself, Ian took the opportunity and began a journey with the business that would eventually see him become Managing Director of Accommodation.

“I had no real background in hire other than as a customer, but the Operations Director at the time took a chance on me and I'm still here. I came with no real progression planned, but I've always been ambitious and confident in my ability. I've been fortunate to end up in the role I have now but have worked hard to get here.”

From painting cabins to leading Accommodation

Having learnt the business from the ground up, Ian has seen first-hand how much the business has evolved over the past 25 years.

“When I was a Depot Manager, I could be found painting cabins on a Saturday morning if we were behind schedule. Back then it was timber cabins and hand painting, very different from today.”

Today, one of Ian’s greatest sources of pride is the Accommodation business and the team behind the team.

“There lots of things I'm proud of. I'm very proud of the business Accommodation is now and the team we have built in it.”

Supporting the UK through Covid-19

When the Covid-19 pandemic began, things changed almost overnight for Ian and the team.

“The work on the Covid-19 test sites is one thing that stands out. We went from looking to furlough staff one day to installing test sites the next day. In the end, working with the wider team, we had test sites all throughout the UK, all to try and keep the nation safe.”

It remains one of the defining experiences of Ian’s career and a moment that demonstrated what could be achieved by bringing people and capabilities together from across the business.

The moments that stay with you

Another milestone came in 2012, when Ian was heavily involved in the acquisition of the Balfour Beatty cabin fleet and the signing of the initial five-year sole supply accommodation agreement.

One particular memory has stayed with him: “I remember going into Head Office at Warrington on New Year’s Eve to witness our CEO sign the agreements.”

There have also been some significant personal milestones along the way including winning Operations Team of the Year at the first of our Hall of Fame Awards was a particularly proud moment for Ian, followed by being named Leader of the Year in 2023.

But after 25 years, his story is as much about what he has learnt from others as the achievements themselves. One of Ian’s biggest lessons in leadership has been recognising that being a leader doesn’t mean trying to solve every problem yourself.

“The first MD I worked for gave me some great advice that if I tried to fix every issue I found straight away, I'd never be away from work and I'd never fix everything anyway.

For someone starting out, trust your instincts, if something feels wrong then it probably is. It's better to deal with it quickly and take the pain now than to drag it out.

Be someone who is prepared to work hard, put the hours in and will listen to good advice. Also, be someone who will ask questions and is confident enough to offer an opinion.”