The Journey from Apprentice to CEO Via Pharma, Oil & Gas & Engineering Sectors
Release Date: 09/12/2023
Comparesoft Podcast
Laura Pointer, Founder of Pivotal Project Management, joins the Comparesoft ERP Podcast to explain how she has built a 100% go-live success rate across ERP implementations in oil and gas, engineering, manufacturing and facilities management. In this episode, Laura unpacks what ERP go-live actually means, why most buyers mistake it for the end of the project, and the methodology that has kept her record intact. She walks through the checklist non-negotiables, the most common causes of delay, and what it takes to sustain a go-live once the consultants have demobilised. Laura talks about: What...
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Andy Mellor, Founder of Pragmatic Maintenance & Reliability, joins the Comparesoft Maintenance Podcast to break down what a successful condition monitoring strategy actually looks like, and why so many programmes fail to deliver, even when the right tools and data are in place. Drawing on over 20 years of hands-on experience across heavy industry, including eight years at British Steel and contract work at sites such as Anglesey Aluminium, Andy explains why culture, communication, and trust matter more than technology when it comes to turning predictive data into maintenance action. In...
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Yuriy Zaletskyy, CTO and Co-Founder of Acupower, joins the Comparesoft ERP Podcast to pull back the curtain on ERP delivery: What actually happens once a business has signed the contract and the ERP delivery partner gets involved? Drawing on over thirteen years of implementation experience, including hands-on development and architecture work across cloud ERP platforms, Yuriy explains: What happens in the first two weeks after a buyer signs with an ERP delivery partner The gap between polished ERP sales demos and day-one implementation reality Why the 70% ERP failure statistic deserves more...
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Christopher Lloyd, Facilities Manager at EssilorLuxottica UK, joins the Comparesoft Facilities Management Podcast to discuss the reality of maintaining over 700 high-street retail stores across fashion and optical healthcare brands. Drawing on over 12 years in retail and wholesale facilities management, Chris explains how FM teams protect the customer experience at scale, why communication and transparency matter more than perfection, and what he has learned from rolling out a new self-managed CAFM system across his entire estate. In this episode, Chris talks about: How FM teams prioritise...
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Adileh Mountain, Founder at Strat Scale Advisory, joins the Comparesoft ERP Podcast to explore what causes ERP programmes to go off the rails, what a real recovery plan looks like in practice, and why field adoption is the make-or-break factor in construction ERP. Drawing on 15 years in construction and EPC operations and her experience leading ERP transformation and recovery work at Deloitte, Adileh explains how she diagnoses failing programmes, what construction firms actually need from ERP, and what leaders must get right to make transformation stick beyond go-live. In this episode, Adileh...
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Daniel Hughes, Facilities Manager at a 61-unit industrial estate, joins the Comparesoft Facilities Management Podcast to share how he broke into the FM profession without a degree or traditional career path. Drawing on a career that started with forklift driving and street wardening before a mentor and an IOSH qualification opened the door, Daniel explains what the transition into facilities management really involves, where communication skills matter more than formal qualifications, and how treating contractors and tenants as partners shapes better outcomes across the board. In this episode,...
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John Cusick, President of Echo Park Consulting, joins the Comparesoft ERP Podcast to give software buyers a practical rundown of AI-native ERP: what it is, how it compares to traditional systems, and what to watch out for. With a career spanning NetSuite implementations and subscription billing, John now helps companies adopt modern AI-native platforms. He explains how implementations work differently, where the real-time savings are, and directly addresses the fears around data quality, hallucinations, and handing over critical finance processes to AI. In this episode, John talks about:...
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Lee Wachter, ERP & AI Supply Chain Advisor at Interactive Ingenuity, joins the Comparesoft ERP Podcast to unpack what it really takes for manufacturers and CPG companies to fix broken supply chain operations, make ERP decisions that hold up under pressure, and layer AI in a way that actually delivers value. With senior leadership experience at Olympus and Diageo, work with companies like Pepsi and Citibank, and time spent inside an ERP vendor, Lee brings a rare dual perspective on ERP selection and supply chain performance. He explains where supply chains start to break down, how to...
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Kerry Boyce, Director of Maintenance at the University of Warwick, joins the Comparesoft Maintenance Podcast to explore what it truly takes to maintain a 710-acre university estate with over 500 buildings, thousands of student residents, and more than a million assets. In this episode, Kerry discusses: The real scale and diversity of assets across a major university estate from research laboratories to student residences and theatre spaces How she built asset visibility from day one, combining desktop data review with boots-on-the-ground faculty visits The unique operational challenges of...
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Tanya Last joins the Comparesoft ERP Podcast to explain how an ERP project manager keeps large-scale ERP programs on track from early delivery through to post-go-live stabilisation. Drawing on around 15 years of leading ERP and wider transformation programmes, particularly in complex public sector environments, Tanya breaks down what the ERP project manager role actually involves in practice and why successful ERP delivery depends on much more than technology. She explores the realities of governance, decision-making, change management, delivery discipline, and how to spot when a programme is...
info_outlineThe CEO of PlantQuest, Gerard Carton, discusses the challenges faced in high-compliance environments in the Pharma, Oil & Gas, and Engineering Sectors and his journey from apprentice to CEO.