The new Titan UK Chief Executive, Jon Slatkin, is sitting in his new, large office at our head office in Victoria. The first thing he says “It’s too big and cut off from everyone else. I like to be hands-on so one of the main priorities for Titan (once it is financially viable) is to get new offices”. The London office is rapidly outgrowing its rabbit warren and is desperate to get to bigger, more open plan offices.
Jon has worked in Europe for the last 3 years and has lived in the UK for the last 1½ of those, but originally comes from the US. He grew up and studied at University just outside Kansas City, “famous for jazz, BBQ’s and Tornados!” he quickly adds. He later completed an MBA in Strategy & Finance before joining Price Waterhouse in Chicago.
Jon joins Titan from AlixPartners, the global leader in turning around underperforming companies, where he worked as a consultant and interim manager for his clients over the last 8 years. “When I joined AlixPartners they had 45 employees in Detroit, now they boast over 500 employees globally”. Their proven success with underperforming companies is exactly why Bill Apfelbaum, Chairman of Titan Worldwide, hired them after the acquisition of Maiden to make Titan a serious player in the UK outdoor market.
Since Titan arrived in the UK, Jon has worked closely with Bill, Don Allman (President and Chief Executive Officer, Titan Worldwide), Andy Moug, and the rest of the senior management team in the UK to highlight and address issues to position the company for success.
So why did Jon decide to join Titan? “After years of moving to new companies every 6 – 12 months often in a different country I was offered a position that really excited me. Bill and Don demonstrate a ‘success-no-matter-what’ attitude with infectious positive energy. This resonated well with me and is something I hope to help filter down through the entire business. Having experienced the business first-hand over the last 6 months I see real potential for Titan UK and see a great opportunity to make a difference”.
Jon is looking forward to getting to know on a personal level not only all of the Titan staff but also our clients and their business. For him, client understanding and servicing must be the foundation to any business and, with that, he ended our chat to head across town to visit one of the key Poster Specialists, leaving me with a really positive sense that Titan UK is in very safe hands indeed.