Driving business in stormy weather - Profile

CommunicationsWeek International, April 1, 2002 by Ingrid Lunden

Lawrie Haynes gained praise when he revamped the U.K. Highways Agency. Now he's tasked with taking a new operator to the top during a downturn. (Profile)

Lawrie Haynes, chief executive of U.K. national IP network operator 186k, has made a career out of working in trying conditions.

186k was launched by its parent, U.K. energy company Lattice Group plc, during the worst downturn in the industry, fueled in large part by a glut in fiber. The predicament wasn't made any easier by the fact that the company embarked on a national network buildout just as the U.K. countryside essentially was being closed off due to the double whammy of record floods and foot-and-mouth disease.

Eighteen months on, and with its 2000-km network build across 20 cities in the United Kingdom complete, Haynes is moving the company into a new phase. He is taking an active role in promoting the business and leading it into new projects, such as Urband, a joint venture with Thames Water to offer metro network services in London.

A qualified business lawyer whose first job was as an apprentice in the Royal Air Force, Haynes seems to thrive on challenges.

In the course of 20 years, Haynes has faced a long list of hurdles across a range of industries: he became the chief executive of the Highways Agency, a division of the much-maligned U.K. Department of Transport, just as it was dealing with major publicity crises; his stint as a partner in charge of outsourcing at Pricewaterhouse Coopers came at a difficult time in the outsourcing market: he worked at Microtel-- now Orange--making a business case for the mobile industry when it was struggling to get backing; and he was faced with the task of legally and commercially reorganizing the satellite operations of British Aerospace and Orion Network Systems.

Haynes sees himself as an executive whose career has been marked by "start-up scenarios," opportunities which he has relished.

"There's a certain type of person who comes to a start-up," says Haynes. "You have to accept the risks involved. It's a rollercoaster. You've got to accept that one day you can be up high, and the next day you can be at the bottom."

Haynes says his most challenging predicaments have led to some of his biggest career milestones. One of his most memorable moments was when he led the Highways Agency--he was dubbed the "car tsar"--through a relaunch in 1998. "We moved the organization from being a road builder into a customer-focused organization." he says.

In a parallel with the service evolution in the telecoms market, Haynes developed a strategy to turn the Highways Agency from being merely a manager of transport infrastructure into an organization that provided services to motorists.

"Lawrie is interested in new ideas...and led the Agency towards a much more effective role of network operator rather than simply infrastructure provider." says Sir Richard Mottram, permanent secretary at the Department of Transport Local government and the Regions (DTLR) who served as permanent secretary at the Highways Agency under Haynes. "He has an open and informal style. which went down well with his staff and encouraged them to change. Coupled with his strong sense of fun, this made him popular in the department."

And yet his time there was not without its difficulties. He describes it as an "extremely stressful" period, partly because of the need to be accountable to the government, but also because of the public scrutiny of the Agency's projects.

The controversial building of a road bypass near Newbury. England. was "a highly-charged political issue." Haynes recalls, and his own position supporting the road project inevitably drew criticism. "My wife and I had police protection at the time because of all the attention," he adds.

As a manager. Haynes's style is a balance between giving his employees a long leash and getting involved when the occasion necessitates. This approach seems to go down well with colleagues.

"He takes a less directive role." says Dale Register, the chief operating officer of 186k and a U.S. telecoms warhorse who has spent over thirty years working in engineering and executive positions for companies like BellSouth. "But if necessary. he knows how to be firm."

Through his marketing activities, Haynes has shown his proactive approach.

"I would say that sales and marketing are my predominant roles right now." he says. "And I love it." He may need to show even more of his firmer side in the months to come. He gives 186k a "five-to-seven-year window [of opportunity] to really establish the business."

If things don't work out at 186k, Haynes won't hesitate to reassess his plans.

"When you are in a management position. you've got to know or feel that you can actually make things work," he says of his brief six-month tenure at PwC. "And if you can't do that, then you shouldn't be there."

RELATED ARTICLE: Name: Lawrie Haynes

Position: chief executive, 186k

Location: Reading, England

Past history: MD at Bae Communications Ltd.; director at Origin; legal and managing director at Microtel; partner at PwC; chief executive of Highways Agency