Ian Grimsell
21 Carpenters Wood Drive , Chorleywood , Herts, WD3 5RN.
M: 07771 702383 T: 01923 284640 E:iangrimsell@aol.com.
PROFILE
A marketing and business development director with considerable product development expertise and
many years experience in the friendly society sector, now working as a marketing, strategy and project
management consultant. A commercially orientated, strategic thinker with excellent communication skills
who is used to operating at Board level.
 Track record of negotiating and building successful commercial relationships with B2B partners in
a regulated environment.
 Experience of leading marketing, sales, product development, strategy & planning functions.
 Managed and implemented numerous multi-functional, programmes and projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------KEY CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS
Product Development/Project Management
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Oversaw the outsourcing of customer services and IT functions for Children’s Mutual and managed key
relationships with leading BPO.
Managed team building outsourced Child Trust Fund platform enabling Children’s Mutual to acquire and
administer 350,000 accounts in first 18 months, acquiring £150m funds under management.
Led £1m project to launch Growing Up Bond, an innovative Oeic-based product designed as an
investment vehicle for children and grandchildren.
Implemented Hard Disclosure requirements for Prudential’s range of individual pension products
enabling organisation to meet complex regulatory requirements.
Programme managed series of projects covering all aspects of the product development of range of
Critical Illness products which led to Guardian Royal Exchange to becoming top six provider within 12
months.
Project managed re-build of systems, processes and marketing collateral for friendly society tax-exempt
savings plan and small loan facility.
Business Development
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Established and managed bid/completion team to secure distribution partnerships with over 20 national
and regional financial services providers creating market leading share of Child Trust Fund market.
Increased IFA sales by 60% and reduced overheads by 25% from 2000 to 2003 by restructuring sales
force, changing remuneration structure and focussing activity on profitable IFAs.
Increased Executive Plan sales at Prudential from £9m API to £12m API.
Strategy & Business Planning
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Recommended and gained approval for rationalisation of pooled pension fund range of major UK
investment house.
Co-ordinated the build, presented and gained board agreement to long term strategy including rolling 3
year business plan for specialist financial services provider.
Developed E-commerce strategy and implementation programme.
Developed and implemented Children’s Mutual's distribution strategy moving from dependence on IFA
channel to diversified distribution including affinity partners and direct marketing.
General Management
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Managed Life & Pensions marketing teams at major UK providers responsible for product development,
pricing, advertising & PR, marketing collateral.
Managed IFA and direct sale forces plus sales support teams. Developed telesales capability.
Lead role as part of Executive team re-branding and transforming Tunbridge Wells Equitable Friendly
Society into The Children’s Mutual.
Established and managed project office combining in-house and outsourced resources.
CAREER HISTORY
COMMUNICATION WORKERS FRIENDLY SOCIETY
August 2008 to March 2010
Programme Manager (retained on new contract)
( Nov 2009 – March 2010)
Created integrated plans for range of projects covering establishment of a new company structure, creation of a
credit union, rebranding, CRM, new telephony system and new affinity distribution.
Project manager (retained on new contract)
(Jan 2009 -Oct 2009)
 Led customer service and system based project which successfully re-engineered and re-launched the
organisations small loan facility.
 Hands-on management of revamp and re-launch of tax-exempt savings plan including product
specification, system requirements definition, pricing, marketing, process definition and staff training.
 Created and implemented Treating Customers Fairly management information system.
Interim Marketing manager
(Aug 2008- Dec 2008)
Managed marketing, sales and customer services teams. Created gap analysis of organisation’s TCF approach.
Revised key product literature.
NMG ASSOCIATES
July & August 2008
Short term contract spread over two months to analyse and evaluate responses to a tender to provide full range of
life and pensions products for a major UK building Society.
TCF- index (associate partner)
April - July 2008
Promoted bespoke software package to potential financial services clients including friendly societies, fund
managers and insurance companies.
THE CONSULTING CONSORTIUM
October 2007 - February 2008
As Business Development Director developed and implemented plans to revamp corporate websites, appointed
PR agency, established and agreed KPIs for recruitment arm of business, initiated creation of business
development plans for resourcing and consultancy divisions.
MORLEY FUND MANAGERS
June 2007 - October 2007
Employed on consultancy basis to produce recommendation re rationalisation of pooled pension funds (circa
£3.7billion) and retained to create project initiation document.
 Produced project mandate including market research and gained board approval for initiation stage.
 Liaised with senior stakeholders (investment managers and distributors) to define and agree
requirements.
 Carried out cost/benefit analysis confirming positive business case.
 Created fully resourced project plan.
CHILDREN’S MUTUAL
January 1997 to June 2007
Strategy & Solutions Director (reporting to CEO)
(April 2004 to June 2007)
Management board responsibility for outsourced IT and Customer Service functions, customer proposition
development and business strategy.
 Built outsourced Child Trust Fund platform enabling Children’s Mutual to acquire and administer
350,000 accounts in first 18 months, acquiring £150m funds under management.
 Managed team designing, testing and building requirements for B2B partnerships covering all systems
based output, marketing collateral, investment deal transactions and management information.
 Led £1m project to launch Growing Up Bond, an innovative Oeic-based product designed as an
investment vehicle for children and grandchildren (November 2004-October 2005).
 Launched UK’s only Sharia Child Trust Fund (November 2005)
 Defined organisation’s strategic objectives. Co-ordinated the build, presented and gained board
agreement to rolling 3 year business plan including distribution and market development strategy
(2006).
 Developed E- commerce strategy and implementation programme designed to increase market share by
10% (2006).
Sales Director (reporting to CEO)
Appointed to management board as Associate Director.
(January 2000-April 2004)
 Established and managed bid/completion team to secure distribution partnerships with over 20 national
and regional financial services providers creating market leading share of Child Trust Fund market
(2004/05).
 Managed UK IFA field and telesales teams, direct sales force, sales support, training and competence
functions. 80-90 employees.
 Achieved cost saving of £600k per annum from 2000 onwards by recommending and implementing
disbanding of direct sales force.
 Increased IFA sales by 60% and reduced overheads by 25% from 2000 to 2003 by restructuring sales
force, changing remuneration structure and focussing activity on profitable IFAs.
Marketing manager
(January 1997- January 2000)
 Programme managed all aspects of corporate re-branding including market research, appointment of
creative agency, changes to printed and system produced output.
 Designed and built Advantage Bond – a unitised with-profits bond distributed by direct sales force.
 Managed PR and promotional campaigns.
PRUDENTIAL
January 1994 to January1997
EPP&SSAS Marketing Manager promoted to Individual Pensions Marketing Manager
GUARDIAN ROYAL EXCHANGE
(1994-1996)
September 1985 to January 1994
Life and Pensions Marketing Manager
(1992-1994)
Pensions Marketing Manager
(1988-1992)
IFA Pensions Consultant
(1985-1988)
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PROFESSIONAL & EDUCATIONAL
Chairman TWEFS pension scheme board of trustees
Accredited Prince 2 practitioner
Certificate of Achievement - Practical Tools & Techniques for Successful Project Management
Certified Financial Planner
Certificate in marketing ( psychological aspects of marketing, fundamentals of marketing and
statistics)
Accredited Partner Treating Customers Fairly Index
BA Hons - Birmingham University - Russian