THE ULTIMATE IN MANAGEMENT

摘要

James smith CMgr almost fell into his role as director of cycling clothing company Primal Europe. The directors at Primal America simply offered the European arm of the business to Smith and his wife Judith (now the MD of Primal Europe) after just a few months of sponsoring his cycling team. "I was an elite athlete," he explains - but then he was suddenly running a business. Within days, the couple had boxes of Primal clothing on their driveway. "They'd shut the Milan office and shipped it to our house," Smith recalls. "Judith was working under the stairs like Harry Potter, and I was trying to run it while still in the navy." They soon moved into shared premises, and within a few months, they had an entire floor. It wasn't long before they were asked to leave, as they were taking up too much space. Two years ago, as Primal Europe continued its rapid growth, Smith decided he needed to learn some management skills. He completed his Chartered Manager accreditation in March 2018, which he says was eye-opening. He quickly followed it up with a master's degree in strategic business management. "That's where I've really used my CMI membership," he says. "I've been tapping into the website and using all the resources."