What was your first job and what did your responsibilities include?

My first job was as a lab technician in a platinum metal refinery, making up the alloys of precious metals. This was between school and going up to Oxford to read chemistry.

How much was in your first pay packet and what did you spend it on?

As a lab technician, it was probably only £20 a month but in 1960 it was enough to buy new tyres for my Lambretta scooter, buy a better tennis racquet and start saving to fund a course to improve my French.

Describe how you career developed to the present day.

My career took off after completing my MBA at the INSEAD business school. I joined Rank Xerox, where I had a planning role in Germany. This was followed by moving across to financial controlling role, working as financial director of an American high-tech subsidiary in Bavaria.

I then returned to the UK as group financial director of an international security services group, before working as deputy chief executive of an international freight forwarder, where my role expanded to include Europe, Africa, Middle East, Japan and Korea and Australasia.

I spent the last 14 years helping SMEs turn their fortunes around, particularly those struggling after private equity acquisitions.

What are the key responsibilities in your position?

In Business Doctors, we aim to help the owners and management team in SME's in all sectors realise their ambitions for profitable growth.

These are challenging times, but there are plenty of opportunities to expand market share profitably with a clear strategy and an obsessive attention to delivering superior value through quality and customer service.

Describe a typical day.

I have seldom had one and had I known such a thing I think I would probably have already been looking for the next challenge.

Who/what have been the biggest influences on your career?

At Rank Xerox in the mid-1970s my boss, Dr Albert Greiner, was something of a mentor. He said: “Over his or her career an employee costs over a million Deutschmark. Get the recruitment decision right, and the rest can look after itself.”

I have always tried to follow that advice.

What has been your best decision?

To spend my second long vacation as an undergraduate in Oxford learning German. The Goethe Institute was in a beautiful mediaeval walled town, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and in two months I learnt enough German to later qualify for the trilingual MBA course in INSEAD and work in Germany.

And your worst?

Early in my career, I accepted the legal opinion of a reputedly brilliant young lawyer, which proved wrong and had serious consequences for the business. Since that day, I always challenge expert advice and seek second opinions.

Do you run an apprenticeship scheme and, if so, why?

In my corporate and interim management careers I have been a strong supporter of apprenticeship schemes and continuous learning. I particularly admire the German system of industrial apprenticeships. We undervalue craft and technical skills at our peril.

What is the secret of good management?

Trusting and developing a strong and diverse team. Without trust you cannot delegate. Without delegation people do not develop and without developing your team, you won't develop a successor and will be held back from accepting the next exciting challenge.

Do you have a good work/life balance?

I try to train every day in the gym that we built onto our home and enjoy tennis, golf and skiing, but I am sure that my wife would say that I still end up working too much.

What are the biggest challenges facing your business today?

Starting up any new business is challenging. Much of my network of business contacts is in Germany, France and Scandinavia. It is more than 45 years since I was last active in Oxford, so my priority will be building new local relationships.

Is there anything in business that really irritates you?

The attitude in the UK to engineering. On the Continent, especially in Scandinavia and Germany, the industrial culture is driven by engineering excellence. Time and again we Brits seem to be great in the labs but industry is far too cautious taking technology to market. I should particularly like to help redress this balance.

How do you see your company developing over the next five years?

Delivering the right package of support to help SMEs grow successfully will hopefully generate growth for my business by word of mouth recommendation.

What has been your most satisfying moment?

Recently, my greatest satisfaction is seeing the tools and techniques offered by Business Doctors match so well with my experience and understanding of the needs of SME’s aiming to achieve strong and safe growth.

How much do you use social media and how effective is it?

Social media is a growing component in the marketing mix and I look to mobilise it in the service of potential clients.

What is your attitude to the environment and do you have any green policies in place?

My interest in environmental issues goes back to the labs in Cambridge in the 1960s, when fellow graduate students were working on the mechanism of the destruction of the ozone layer.

Until recently, I was chairman of a Norwegian group of chemical companies specialising in the pulp and paper industry. Our strongest technology was a proprietary technology for de-inking recycled paper. Our silicone chemicals replaced palm oil derivatives, and provided a real ecological boost by helping reduce destruction of the forests.

What do you do to motivate a workforce?

Be open and honest, particularly when there is bad news.

Is there any other job you would like to have done and why?

I would have liked to have been an archaeologist. Starting today, I would love to work on paleogenetics, solving historical problems using DNA analysis.

What would you like to do when you retire?

Complete and publish the books that I have been researching over the years and share with my wife Marianne the joys of some of the countries that my business career has taken me to. I will also devote more time to marketing her paintings and sculptures.

Name: Dr Edward Hope
Age: 69
Job: Business Doctors, Oxford
Time in job: New launch
Contact: 07802 847272
Web: www.businessdoctors.co.uk/oxford