07.09.2016
New CEO for Ainscough
UK based rental company Ainscough Crane Hire has appointed Janet Entwistle as chief executive, effective immediately. It follows the resignation of Robin Richardson.
A lawyer by training Entwistle was previously chief executive of property services group Knight Square Holdings, until she stood down last year having restructured and refinanced the business over a four year period following its emergence from administration in 2012.
Before that she was managing director of BT Fleet, the fleet management arm of the telecoms group, a role she held for more than 11 years from 1999.
Prior to that she spent 12 years as legal service manager for the BT group, having joined the company from Bowater Industries, where she was a legal advisor. During her time with BT she was also a board member of the Freight Transport Association for six years, stepping down in 2012.
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Janet Entwistle
Entwistle said: “I am delighted to be joining Ainscough and look forward to working with the team to continue to grow and strengthen the business. In my first few weeks I will be meeting employees, customers and key partners to understand how the business works and what we can do to make Ainscough even better”.
Richardson will provide support during a transition period in order to ensure a smooth hand over.
A statement from the company said: “The Board of Ainscough would like to thank Robin for his energy and commitment over the past three years.”
Vertikal Comment
As you might expect there is no mention of the reasons behind the departure of Robin Richardson. He certainly came under a good deal of pressure earlier this year during a pay claim and a series of crane operator strikes. The strikes caused some strong reactions and emotions among the operators, possibly due in part to the way it was handled. Given this there is probably some rationale for bringing in a fresh face to take the company forward.
It is also highly encouraging to see an experienced outsider joining the industry, not to mention a strong female executive, particularly one with a solid, stable track record. As managing director of BT Fleet Entwistle will have had some contact with the access industry and also through the FTA seen some of the challenges facing crane movements, transport and deliveries.
All in all this looks like a positive move for Ainscough employees and customers.
Cambridge warrior
Small minded buffoons Robin Richardson single handedley saved Ainscough thanks robin ignore these small minded idiots they are the minority the majority will miss your talent and leadership from all with a brain thank you and best of luck
ghost
I hear the lads have stopped reverse parking in the depots.........
Grumpy
Really guys, this is pretty nasty stuff.
Janet may adopt a different style but it's clear for all outside the company to see what kind of people RR was dealing with and that some (the very loud militant minority) will see this as an opportunity for the tail to start wagging the dog again. RR stood up to the militants and unless Janet is strong Ainscough will end up becoming a workers cooperative.
Good luck Janet. You'll need to have a bit of the 'Iron Lady' in you dealing with these disrespectful and unreasonable people.
Goodbye and good riddance to 'Cock Robin' - no way on this earth do the FD and MD go at the same time of their own accord. What do you think guys? You said it Big Jib "a horrible human being" but I would go one further - there is no human in him, ! He is the cause of a wealth of knowledge and expertise to hemorrhage out of the company and on to the competition. Good move Richardson, it's going to be a hell of a struggle for your successor but she won't have to try too hard to do a better job. But hey "Let's not get stuck in the weeds, let's shake the tree and see what falls out!!"
Big Jib
Good riddance Mr.Richardson, a poor manager and, more importantly, a horrible human being.
Crane expert
Well said guys, Robin has been a blight to Ainscough since he has arrived, the whole reason the strikes escalated to the point they did was because of his arrogance and not having the ability to deal with the staff. Good riddance to him.
Old Sweat Old Sweat
Thank god Richardson has gone...... Very divisive and difficult personality. Good to see the back of him..... Good luck to Janet
I think That Robin did an excellent job at Ainscough. The family have so its in the past.He is a business man who was keen to learn as much about the Crane Industry as he could. Certainly any time I met him he was always interested to hear what I had to say. So good luck Robin in the future and also Good luck to Janet. Times have changed a lot over the years but still the Leaders in the Industry .
Tmayes
Well this is certainly a welcomed shock, I'm sure there will be a lot of happy people within Ainscough at seeing the back of Robin, he's done a lot of damage since he's been in the hot seat.
I wish Mrs Entwisle all the luck in her new career with Ainscoughs, one bit of advice tho that will hopefully help you do a better job thanRobin did is don't insulate yourself from the staff, try and connect with the operators they are your biggest asset, if you can do this then I'm sure your job will be a lot easier. Just look at how the Ainscough brothers ran the company.
Crane lads
Welcome to ainscough janet. And good luck robin.