Focus Group appoints Barney Taylor as CEO
Focus Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing providers of essential business technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Barney Taylor as Chief Executive Officer.
Taylor joins Focus Group from Ensono where he held the position of SVP and Managing Director Europe, prior to its successful acquisition by KKR. Barney’s extensive experience in Enterprise IT services adds an exciting new level of expertise to the leadership team at Focus Group and will accelerate its strategic expansion as a leading provider of essential ICT solutions.
As an accomplished IT business leader, Taylor will bring over 20 years’ experience across sales, operations and finance to Focus Group. He will lead the day-to-day operation of the business, build its end-to-end strategy and drive ambitious organic growth, alongside taking responsibility for the continued expansion of the business through M&A activity.
In making the announcement, Chris Goodman, Managing Director of Focus Group said:
“I am delighted to welcome Barney to the Focus Group team and I’m very confident that as we continue to focus on our culture, our people and our customers, he’ll help us accelerate towards being a more collaborative and integrated business. We did an extensive search for an outstanding leader and Barney’s track record of success, customer-centric approach and operational expertise were obvious strengths. Above all, it was vital we realised this ambition in the right way for Focus Group and it was immediately clear that Barney's style and approach would see us retain the entrepreneurial spirit and culture that makes us who we are today, together with ensuring we continue upon our ambitious growth trajectory and build on our strong financial performance as a business to date.”
Barney Taylor, newly appointed CEO for Focus Group added:
”Focus Group has an outstanding track record of success and has outperformed the market for many years. It has a product portfolio that has its foundations in telecommunications but is now capable of delivering wider technology solutions and services across multiple market sectors, that include Cyber Security, Connectivity and Software-Defined Networking. I am very excited at the opportunity to work with Chris and Ralph and the talented Focus Group leadership team, to accelerate the ambition of this business, with support from Bowmark Capital.
As Chris states, we will continue to drive the success that Focus Group has become accustomed to by ensuring our people, our strong culture and the entrepreneurial spirit that we enjoy today, are at the heart of everything that we do.”
Co-Founders of Focus Group, Chris Goodman and Ralph Gilbert remain central figures within the business as Founder Directors. Goodman & Gilbert’s experience and reputation in the UK’s voice & data arena, coupled with Barney’s operational leadership and strategic direction, will be supported by investors Bowmark Capital and access to M&A funds, to create what will be a formidable partnership going forward.
Published 5 October 2021
