A forward thinking, responsible and caring business | Phil Wild

Phil is the CEO of ‘James Cropper’, an engineering and advanced materials business based in the Lake District. You may not have heard of them but they employ over 600 people and work for big brands such as Burberry–producing high-quality paper, technical fibre and smart substitutes to single-use plastic. Phil is on a journey to allow more autonomy for employees. He wants leaders in his business to look further into the future. He wants them to think about the bigger questions the business has and allow them to delegate responsibility for tactical issues, giving more empowerment to junior staff. He has been keen to separate James Cropper into its three core businesses, allowing each one to take more control over how they deal with day-to-day challenges. The overall goal brings less overarching policy and more personalised leadership. James Cropper is a predominantly rural business, which often contains multiple people from the same family. This brings new opportunities around supporting the local community and building a strong brand to attract engineering talent. This is a business that listens. Enjoy learning about how they got to where they are now