PM interview with Stephen Dando, Thomson Reuters

If there’s truth in the phrase “a change is as good as a rest”, then Stephen Dando should be one of the most rested businessmen in Britain. Major organisational change appears to have stalked him throughout his career. “The ones that stand out are the merger of Guinness and Grand Met to form Diageo; the transformational work at the BBC under Greg Dyke, followed by the Hutton crisis; and then the huge integration of Thomson and Reuters.” He pauses, as if appreciating for the first time their cumulative weight, before adding, “That probably adds up to my fair share!” First, go back to a recession-ravaged Britain in 1984, where strikes are common and job opportunities scarce (sound familiar?). A young Dando, fresh from university, is considering scant career options. “You considered yourself lucky to get a job out of university – you did not take that for granted,” says Dando, his Stirlingshire accent somewhat softened by years in England. HR “seemed interesting”, and the automotive industry a good place to start. Fast-forward to 1989, and Dando is in the final interview for a generalist HR role with United Distillers (UD), part of Guinness. It’s a formality, merely the UD HR director wanting to give the appointment “his blessing”. Dando tells him he wants to move on from his current employer (manufacturing firm Ferranti) because of a lack of management development opportunities. So strong were his feelings concerning development that the HR director decided to reject him for the generalist HR role, and hired him instead to head a training and development (T&D) section – a post with far more seniority. “I said: ‘Great – but I don’t actually know anything about T&D’,” recounts Dando. “And he said that would be a positive advantage!”