Guest Blog: Jason Pyle – Managing Director USA, India, and Canada - stepping up to an exec position
Recently, I was promoted to an executive role with Nash Squared and became part of the Executive Council (ExCo). It is truly an honor that I do not take for granted, and I am not alone in that honor. Perhaps you have seen recent posts from Andy Heyes and Rhona Carmichael, both talented colleagues that have taken over Bev’s blog in consecutive weeks after joining the ExCo and their new roles respectively.
Similarly, I appreciate the opportunity to share my perspective on stepping up to an Exec position with Nash Squared. Thank you, Bev!
A Brief Introduction
My entry into the Harvey Nash business was result of an acquisition in October of 2020. I apologize if that’s redundant information, but I am conscious that we have new team members in the organization and many existing team members I have not yet met. That is to be expected with circa 3000 global employees (wow!), but I look forward to meeting as many as possible in my new role.
While I have been with the Nash Squared family for just under three years, inclusive of the business Harvey Nash acquired, I have been working with the company for 23+ years. I have enjoyed every minute of my role as Managing Director and President over the Harvey Nash USA and India business (and Canada very soon!). Throughout my time here I have loved seeing so many long-tenured employees, but just as equally, learning from fresh faces that have joined the company.
This week, for example, I spent time in our London HQ and met with folks that have worked here for a decade or longer and some that just started this very week! I also had the opportunity to talk with our Direct Sourcing team in the UK (and India) that are doing marvelous work for our customers. I went to dinner Wednesday night with our CIO, Ankur Anand, who joined in the Spring, and came away with 2-3 wonderful ideas to explore. Thank you, Ankur!
Point being, yes there are real market challenges facing each Nash Squared business around the world, but it is inspiring and energizing to meet our team members across all brands and roles/responsibilities. The depth and breadth of talent we have in the Nash Squared family is confidence building.
Speaking of team, confidence, and inspiration, our Harvey Nash USA and India team is made up of well over 270 employees. This constitutes close to 10% of our global employee numbers. The most exciting piece of the new Exec role for me, is representing our esteemed colleagues from the US and India, which I aim to do with 100% effort! To say I am lucky to have such a marvelous team is an understatement – thank you to all!
The Global Leadership Team
Approximately one year after joining the organization, I became part of the Global Leadership Team (GLT) in the Fall of 2021. The GLT is made up of country managers and senior leaders from different brands around the Nash Squared business. The aim of the GLT, together with oversight and direction of the ExCo, is driving business growth across Nash Squared - all brands and geographies.
That is all well and good, but quite candidly, I recall wondering how we would all come together and make an impact. But little did I know that my admission into this cohort of colleagues would serve as a massive accelerator in my gaining familiarity with what makes the Nash Squared family of brands so unique, and how we’re in a class of ONE when it comes to what we offer customers from Talent, Solutions, Outsourcing, MSP/RPO, and hire-train-deploy. That is a value prop no other competitor has!
Time spent with my GLT colleagues helped fill gaps of understanding from the various brands and service lines around the organization. Through this shared learning and understanding, I am very proud of what the GLT has accomplished – addition of the Group’s first CIO, Program Manager, Group Procurement Manager, and spearhead a number of Digital Transformation initiatives with the help of so many talented support-team members.
And I dare say, more than any of those achievement the GLT has made, I most appreciate the bonds and camaraderie developed amongst our group. I look forward to continuing to work closely with this wonderful team of leaders in my new role.
The Next Step
Stepping into this exec seat, I intend to approach it as I have done any role throughout my career - learning from my colleagues first and foremost. I can say, without question, it has been about two full months of exactly that! In a recent one-on-one call with Crimson Managing Director, Rob Mallaband for instance, I found myself writing about every fifth word out of Rob’s mouth when it comes to planning where we want to go as a business and how to get there (thanks Rob!). There is lots to learn from this esteemed team of leaders and I am grateful for that chance.
That said, I also plan on sharing and adding a whole lot of value myself. I come from a world of high-volume and scale contract talent delivery, favoring a blended model of onshore (USA) and offshore (India) teams, and a passionate commitment to leveraging data to drive business decisions and incrementally improve (that last bit is something I live by BTW). At the core, this scale contract business is something with which I am quite comfortable, and I am keen to share and highlight ideas and ways we can improve and take greater advantage of our opportunities globally.
In closing, I am once again grateful for the consideration given to me for this new role and it is a meaningful step forward for our US and India business from a representation standpoint. And of course, I am looking forward to doing my part and then some in helping to shape the Nash Squared business with my fellow colleagues.
Best of luck to each one of you in this second half of FY24 – let’s keep focused, driving our business forward to finish this year!