Leeds Met to raise its game

THE new chair of the board of governors at Leeds Metropolitan University said he is guiding the organisation through a period of change, as he aims to raise its game and embrace new business opportunities.

Phil White is currently the chairman of Lookers, Kier Group, Unite Group and Harrogate-based Meridian Motor Group, as well as sitting on the board of Stagecoach Group and Yorkshire equipment rental specialist VP. Earlier this month, he replaced Lord Woolmer of Leeds.

Mr White said he will now try to help the university – which announced in July it is to change its name to Leeds Beckett University – to prosper as a business.

“Leeds Met has a very commercial service being offered. We have to attract people here to get their degrees and give them good chances of employment,” he said.

“We are going through a period of change and no one knows how people’s views will change in regards to fees. We have got to raise our game. People are now asking: What am I getting for my fees? Have I got the right qualifications to get me a job?

“Change excites me and it’s amazing what opportunities it creates. We get a lot from it and it is good to embrace it.

“One thing that attracted me here is that Leeds Met is a new university. I find that things that are new and young are more ambitious and prepared to move a lot quicker and understand there is a brave new world out there.”

Mr White referred to Leeds Met as being like a “big business” with 3,000 staff and big money to spend.

He said: “We are working with businesses as we are not guaranteed an income, as we are not like the big research universities, so it is important to us that the relationships are built and we will continue to do that.

“It is now a time to look ahead. Because things are currently looking good, we have got to now look forward.

“I will be challenging the board and management and asking them what do we look like in 2020? We must ask questions. Do we want to be bigger? What’s the best business we have at the moment? Can we make the core better? We’ve got to think outside the box and have a bit of free thinking. That’s where the board helps management.

“I want to encourage the team here and get them thinking what they want to do and what will be good business for us. I bring big business experience with me and can make the university bigger in quality. I am not a turnover man – I am very focussed on doing core business.”

Mr White said he doesn’t know yet where the university wants to be in 2020 – now is a time to ask the questions and put plans in place.

“Ask the questions and don’t be afraid to do so. It would be wrong for me to say I want us to be like this or that,” he said. 

“We are not bound by tradition here, so we can build on what we are. We have got the ability to think freely.”

Mr White said he believes Leeds is a phenomenal city and is optimistic about the Yorkshire region as a whole. However, he said the challenge is to make people in London think about Yorkshire more and businesses need to “rattle cages and make noise”.

“Companies produce figures on a yearly basis and have to meet market expectations, but nobody really thinks, where am I going to be in ten years’ time? I think a lot of short-term thinking distorts progress and holds us back,” he said.

“As a business at Leeds Met, we have got to think big and think ahead. If we think we are doing fine and hitting targets, that’s great for the short-term but it won’t take us very far.

“The best businesses sit back and prepare themselves and plan for the different courses of action. We can’t wait. We have got to be masters of our own destiny. Self-help is a great way to run your business.”

The businessman was finance director of Yorkshire Rider in Leeds from 1986 to 1994 and chief executive of National Express Group from 1997 to 2006.

“I have been through a lot, so I don’t panic. The experience of going through good times and bad times really helps. You learn from the difficult things,” White said.

Professor Susan Price, vice chancellor, added: “We have seen a period of rapid transformation in the past few years and enjoyed a series of successes here at our university; I know that Phil is fully committed to our values and to ensuring our university continues to thrive.”