Andy Legg is Operations Director and Executive Board member of full-service marketing and communications agency, Marketing Matters (MM). He has worked at the Dorset-based company for 14 years, joining as a Print Manager.

As an Operations Director, he is responsible for the company’s core business functions, ranging from finance, production and human resources, through to health & safety and procurement.

In June 2007, Andy and two of his colleagues led a management buy-out of MM, opening a new chapter in the development of the business.

ICM Copywriter, Natasha Piscitelli, had the opportunity to interview Andy to discover his route to becoming an Operations Director and find out what his job entails – as well as delving into his thoughts on the issues facing the commercial world today.

1. How would you define commercial management?

I would describe it as the provision of the processes required to enable your business to operate as effectively as possible.

2. What does your job entail?

Each day, I hold a meeting with the Production, Finance and Scheduling teams. I also have weekly catch-ups with the HR and Health & Safety Managers. As we plan and develop our workflows, it’s essential that I have a picture in my mind of how each of our projects will run.

The financial implications for both us and the client will always be at the forefront of my mind. This is vital as, at the end of our day, we sell our time and this needs to be done as cost effectively as possible.

Despite this, it’s also important that I maintain a sense of flexibility as something as small as a ten-minute change in our Creative department can actually have a huge impact on a job – from a quality, scheduling and financial point of view.

One of the strengths of MM is the fact that all our 35 staff sit together on one floor which helps each department to be run coherently, whilst also allowing me to keep an eye on everything going on.

3. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I particularly enjoy project planning as this is the area I feel I can contribute most to the business. I’m an ‘inky’ at heart so I also love doing press passing and production.

4. What do you enjoy the least?

Producing good work and then not being paid. Fortunately this happens infrequently!

5. What are the typical problems your clients are facing currently?

Obviously, the tough economic climate is having a big impact on many businesses. We deal with a handful of property developers who are still selling units at the moment. But further down the line, when they stop building and selling, we’ll feel more of an impact.

We’ve already noticed a change in the kind of advertising our clients are requesting too. There definitely seems to be more of a shift away from awareness and aspiration-led campaigns and more of a move towards the ‘hard sell’. I think companies are being much more reactive in terms of their campaign planning too.

6. How important is education to your business?

At MM, we’re always keen to discover new talent amongst students coming out of Higher Education. The standard of graduates seems to be getting better and better, and we’ve found that those coming in straight from university are usually fit for the workplace and ready to hit the ground running. We take placement students from Bournemouth University and the Arts Institute at Bournemouth and they’ve been exceptional. One student actually undertook a year’s placement with us and came back to work here after she graduated which has worked out really well.

7. What route did you take to becoming an Operations Director?

Quite a bizarre one to be honest! I actually started out working in a bank, before I took an opportunity to work in the administration office at a print company. I then joined the production team while simultaneously studying accountancy at night school. Following that, I worked for Marks & Spencer in their design studio for five years where I was responsible for the quality control of their product packaging.

A move back to Bournemouth followed and I moved over to the agency side when I came to work at MM. I joined as a Print Manager, before moving into studio management and looking at the overall profitability of the business and project planning.

I didn’t set out to become an Operations Director and I certainly didn’t expect to end up one of the owners of the company!

8. What tips would you offer individuals looking to pursue a career in commercial management?

I believe that the most important aspect of the job is not to forget that you’re there to make the business run smoothly. You need to put processes in place that are right for the business, rather than finding ways to make your own job easier.

9. What is your greatest achievement to date?

It has to be managing the buy-out of MM in June 2007. The previous owner wanted us to undertake the deal directly with him, rather than using an intermediary. It was quite a long and difficult process which took around 12 months as we used only regulatory advice during the process. It was much harder work doing it this way but it was definitely an excellent learning curve.

10. If you could start your career again, would you do anything differently?

I’ve made quite a few mistakes during my working life but I feel that I’ve learnt from them and I’ve had some fantastic experiences. I’ve been lucky too because I’ve had a great relationship with every boss I’ve worked for. Perhaps my only slight regret is that I didn’t go to university which may have made me less cautious in some of the decisions I’ve made. I could also have been more career-focused a little earlier on as it wasn’t until I returned to Bournemouth at the age of 30 that I really started to knuckle down.

Further information on Marketing Matters and the services the agency provides can be found by visiting: www.marketing-matters.co.uk