OUR TEAM

Richard Atkins brings an abundance of knowledge and experience to Acora, having spent the majority of his career within the IT services industry.

Previously, he was a Director at Data Sciences where he led its MBO from Thorn EMI in 1991 and then managed its successful sale to IBM in 1996. His final role at IBM was as General Manager for IBM Global Services Northern Europe, where he was also a member of the IBM worldwide Senior Leadership Team. Since leaving IBM in 2005 he has acted as a non-executive director for several public and private equity backed companies including Compel, Message Labs, Morse and Easynet.

As well as being Chairman at Entanet and Miles 33 and a non-executive director at MicroFocus plc and Aon in the UK, we are proud to have him as Chairman of Acora.

David leads Acora with the vision, drive and commitment he expects from every member of the business. He believes in being accessible to both staff and clients in equal measure, leading by example and challenging himself to constant improvement every day.

Since leading the MBO in 2006, he has been committed to building a high performance, values-led culture with people at its heart. David’s vision has always been to create a game-changing company that redefines the value of service in the industry. Through his singular commitment to client focus, he has driven change through every level of our business to transform our culture, processes and service delivery.

The board he has handpicked to accompany him on his journey are testament to the quality Acora will pioneer and the standards we will set as we continue to challenge expectation and deliver excellence for the most dynamic and ambitious businesses in the mid-market today.

Having qualified as an accountant, I decided fairly quickly I didn’t want to continue in practice, so made the jump into the commercial world. As a finance director, I was a customer of what became Acora and got to know David Rabson: when he was putting his new team together after the MBO in 2006, he asked me to join him as FD, because I’d always given him a hard time and he wanted me on his side of the table! My job is to provide checks and balances to his incredible drive, keep the bank and other third parties happy and ensure we’re on a sustainable footing. I like being in a role where I can help shape change. From a technical development perspective, our growth means bigger, more interesting things to do and learn about, such as acquisitions and the move to private equity. Personally, I’d teach my younger self to lift yourself and your thinking above worrying about the next two or three months and keep looking further ahead. That’s what comes from working alongside truly visionary people.

I’ve been with Acora for 21 years, although I never set out to have a career in IT: I trained as an accountant (and I was a drummer in a band, but that’s another story…) I originally applied for a finance job but didn’t get it; instead I was offered a role in the support teams, despite having zero IT experience. But I was willing, enthusiastic and ambitious, and pushed myself forward: you’ve got to be brave and try things; even if it doesn’t work out, it’s all experience you can build on. I’ve worked in multiple roles over the years, giving me a good holistic view of the business, with customers at the heart of everything. Acora is growing rapidly and my role with it, broadening into looking at how the company operates overall, as well as managing day-to-day operations and delivery. There are always new personal and team challenges, which keeps things interesting; I enjoy what we do and working with like-minded people. We’ve been on our current journey since 2006 and there’s a real sense of excitement that our grand ambitions are now coming to fruition.

I’ve been with Acora for 20 years, but had three different jobs in that time, including co-running the sales team and working alongside Lee Ganly building up our business in the Midlands in the mid-2000s. I’ve also left twice, to work in project management and contracting respectively, but each time I’ve come back, most recently during Covid. The reason I’ve always returned, and now decided to stay, is the ‘David Rabson factor’. I’ve never worked anywhere with the same clarity of purpose and transparent, accessible vision. I’m a very straightforward person and that binary, unambiguous approach is really important to me. I also love the variety – I get bored quickly – and the problem-solving and integration involved in acquisitions, in particular, make this the perfect job. Plus, I love the fact there are minimal politics here; there’s no room for empire-building.

I started out as a technologist, first with Lloyds Bank – where my claim to fame is that I was tech lead on Europe’s largest-ever .NET development project – then as an ops architect at Accenture. But I’d always wanted to work in a smaller organisation where I could effect change. Then about 14 years ago, I met David Rabson on a golf course in Portugal. During the game (which I won) he told me about his company and his vision, and a few months afterwards I joined in a hybrid sales support and technical role. That experience of talking to customers as a consultant led me into sales and commercial work and, ultimately, to my current job. As a team, we’ve always had a clear picture of what the business could be: my motivation comes from finishing the job we started, supporting my peers and nurturing and developing the next generation of ‘us’ to continue the journey. I’ve taken a couple of big leaps of faith in my career, and it’s taught me to be open-minded, be prepared to take a risk, and back yourself and your capabilities.

Having intended to become an accountant, I’ve actually worked in IT my whole career, starting at Abbey National, which became part of Santander. I’ll never forget working on New Year’s Eve 1999, because we got paid eight times our normal rate! I then moved to PlanNet as a service management consultant: working with the NHS was real eye-opener, and I also gained valuable experience in the legal sector. The company was acquired by Acora in 2019. I had the option not to stay when the sale went through but I decided to give it a go, and I’ve been made incredibly welcome. I’m an ops guy – it’s what I do – and I’m now responsible for the ops, service delivery and shared-service teams, which is about 250 people in all; as a member of the board, I have the latitude to do what I want to do and feel I can really make a difference. I love the variety of the job, and the fact that for the first time in 15 years I’m in an organisation that’s investing in me.

Like many of my colleagues, I came to my current role via a technical route, starting with a computer science degree, then working on service desk and in infrastructure support, and finally as infrastructure architect for a global law firm. If you’d told me back then in the early 2000s that I’d gravitate to the commercial space I probably wouldn’t have believed you; but when I made the move about 10 years ago I found it very easy – in fact, I’d tell my younger self to make it sooner! I still have an interest in the technology, but what I really love now is understanding new businesses and sectors, working with new people, bringing new services and offerings to our customers and building long-term relationships: we’ve been working with some of our customers for 15 years or more, and I probably know at least 80% of them personally. I also enjoy being part of a fantastic team in a high-paced, ambitious company where change is the norm: it certainly never gets boring!

Back in 2004, I was the bank manager for Acora’s previous owners. When I first met David Rabson, he was the sales director and really driving the business, and he asked me ‘How do I buy it?’ I left the bank in 2007 and worked on the MBO as a consultant, then became a non-executive director before joining the board in 2012. In my present role, which I’ve held since 2016, I’m doing what I really enjoy: building a pipeline of potential scale and capability businesses to acquire, leading discussions with them and selling them the Acora dream, then chaperoning and completing the transactions. We made our first acquisition in 2017 and by 2022 we’d done six. I like working with a good bunch of people who are all honest with each other; we all know we’re not perfect! It’s challenging and demanding, but there’s great loyalty and trust and we’re able to get on and do what needs doing.

During my early career I worked with big organisations – university lecturing, research-site support at Exxon, consulting at Hewlett-Packard – but I always wanted to be in a small company where I could make a massive dent! My first job at Acora was Technical Area Manager, working alongside Andrew Robey in our Midlands operation. In 2007 I was part of the MBO team and initially joined the board as IT Director. As CIO, I’m responsible for tech strategy, the platforms we use to deliver our services and our own internal IT systems, as well as engaging with clients. It’s art and science, thought and action. Acora is an exciting place to be right now, with a real focus, drive and pace: we all want to move the needle, leave a legacy and transform our whole industry, not just Acora. I wouldn’t do anything differently, but I’d tell my younger self to go quicker, be bolder, push the agenda and aim for a minimum viable product: don’t try to make things perfect straight off.

I qualified in 2013 and worked as a corporate lawyer in Manchester and London; but during the Covid lockdown I suddenly decided I didn’t want to be in private practice any more. I’ve learned to trust my instincts, and when I saw Acora’s ad on LinkedIn – the previous head of legal was retiring – it seemed the stars had aligned. I joined in August 2021 but I knew the team before then, having advised shareholders on investment and acquisitions. I divide my time between business-as-usual customer contract work, new business support and due diligence, post-completion and corporate governance for acquisitions. This is my first experience in senior management; it’s very different to private practice. We’re a close-knit team and there’s quite a lot of overlap between us; although I don’t get directly involved in operational or technical issues, I’ll often be asked to just read a document and help make a decision. The business is also changing rapidly: it’s really exciting to be so invested in the work I’m doing and how it contributes to the journey.

My early career in recruitment, followed by eight years at Accenture, made me an excellent judge of character and showed me what good looks like – skills and knowledge I still apply today after almost 20 years in HR consulting. I work with the senior team at Acora on people strategy, organisation design and acquisitions; I specialise in growing companies and understand the landscape. Acora is ambitious and constantly changing, but it has a well-organised set of values that people really align themselves to. It’s also somewhere you can genuinely make a difference. As well as influencing direction and strategy, it’s great to be able to point to something tangible and say ‘I did that’. We encourage everyone at Acora to embrace challenges and be the best they can be. I learned a long time ago that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness – and that you never be afraid to hire people better than yourself!

As a qualified accountant, Aylesh identifies and supports ambitious management teams across London looking to take the next step in their growth journey. Aylesh has helped businesses to expand internationally and has supported the growth of several businesses across a range of sectors.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and more than 20 years’ investment experience, Yann’s work spans business services and technology. Yann is responsible for identifying and supporting ambitious management teams looking to grow their business with the backing of a private equity partner.