Entrepreneur Series – Interview with Melissa Foux
January 28, 2019
This month we get to know food entrepreneur Melissa Foux, who has sat on various boards including GU, during the sale process.
- Where did you start your career and what roles did you do?
I followed the classic route of working in audit for a big four firm (PWC). It was an excellent training and I was exposed to all types of sectors – lots of banking and financial services but also local authority and media companies and charities. Once I qualified, I did work overseas in the Lyons office for 2 years which gave a different insight at the clients were mainly manufacturing helped me to become fluent in French. The fabulous food and proximity to the ski slopes also had an influence in the choice of location!
In both locations I did my fair share of transaction work helping clients in a sale or purchase situation which was useful when I then became the client later on in my career. I felt after 6 years I wanted to be working within a business which is why I left practice.
- What made you want to start a career in Finance?
At the time it seemed the sensible option. I did a chemistry degree but realised the life of a research chemist was not for me. With accountancy I thought I would be able to work many different types of organisations and internationally which proved correct! What I didn’t appreciate at the time and certainly working in smaller organisation is how broad the role is. I have ended up being in charge of HR and IT as well. The role is also less about numbers and a lot about personal relationships.
- You sat on the board for GU in 2010 when it was sold to Noble Foods, were there any unexpected challenges during the sales process and how did you get past them?
This was the first time that I had run a sales process from the perspective of being the client. Previously when I had worked at Harvey Nash plc I had always been on the purchaser side. I had not appreciated the amount it time it takes internally especially in a smaller business to run the process from preparing the financial model, getting the dataroom ready and then answering the mountain of questions that come your way. This is on top of running the day to day business.
To help with this we engaged an accountancy firm to help with vendor DD. This was really helpful as they tested my model before it went to the purchaser and also helped prepare a vendor DD report which covered off lots of the basic question.
Our advisors also managed the flow of question and answers which became a job in itself.
- How do you feel that an adviser adds value in the sale process and how did it benefit the process on the GU transaction?
Interestingly not in the way I originally thought. As well as helping to manage the process and getting the best price for business the advisor also helped to manage the different stakeholders internally. As the transaction progressed people had different ideas about what they wanted and the timeframe involved. In the transactions I have been involved with our advisors have been valuable in acting as a mediator between the all the parties and get everyone to agree to the best way forward.
- You are now sat on the board of a start-up Mental Health organisation, The Soke. With mental health becoming more widely acknowledged in the work place, where do you see the market going in the future?
It is certainly expanding rapidly at the moment as perceptions of mental health change. More and more people are accessing services and treatments as it is seen not as an illness but as a positive thing to engage with. Companies are also acknowledging the cost of mental ill health in their organisations and investing in supporting their staff.
Having said that there is a still lack of provision in the sector and a continuing perception that you must be ill if you seek out mental health treatment. This is something that the Soke will address. We aim to destigmatise seeking mental health therapy by setting up clinics providing traditional therapies but with a very different feel and modern approach. We aim to make going for an hour of therapy being seen as no different to spending an hour at the gym.
- You were also on the board for The Collective, tell us a bit about the company and what made you want to move to start as FD there?
The Collective develops and sells the most delicious yoghurts and kefir drinks turning over £30m annually. It was set up by Amelia Harvey and Mike Hodgson who I worked with at GU and so it was great to work with them again. I was attracted by the fact although the Company had been going for 5 years it still maintains an entrepreneurial spirit and ethos. Like GU dairy is a fast changing environment and with a rapidly growing business and there is never a dull moment. This also means as the FD of a small business you get involved in everything!
- If you had the chance to start your career over again, would you do anything differently?
Overall I wouldn’t change much. I think working for a Big four firm provides excellent training and international opportunities. I would have perhaps moved to a smaller company earlier on in my career as this is what I have discovered I enjoy the most.
Quick fire:
- Favourite book? I don’t have one but I like anything by Margaret Atwood.
- Three things to take onto a desert island? My viola as I will finally have time to practice and improve, a supply of decent tea and a tool kit
- Favorite cuisine? French
- Life motto? Try everything once and never stop learning.
