team, but challenge them too for growth’

Richard Cooksey loves to spend his commute listening to audiobooks to pick up any pearls of wisdom from industry leaders.

That commitment to lifelong learning and listening to others has set him in good stead to take the helm of JPA Workspaces, a 50-year-old familyowned business based in St Albans. The company is an award-winning workplace consultancy that takes care of a project from consultation and design through to project management, installation and ongoing maintenance. Its three main sectors are: higher education and further education colleges, NHS and healthcare, and commercial space.

Richard joined the company at the start of 2020 as Chief Operating Officer and became the CEO in January this year, a role he is relishing.

“After graduating from university, I started working in IT sales in London for about 15 years, but once I was given a team to manage, I realised that my strength was in leadership rather than sales,” explains Richard.

“I realised that my passion was helping people to find their strengths and grow.”

Richard’s former experience as Head of Sales and Marketing at Genisys Group and working his way up from Business Development Manager to Chief Operating Officer at Lumina Technologies Ltd have been instrumental in achieving his new role.

He also counts the leaders he has worked with on his rise up the corporate ladder as helping him immeasurably to become the inspirational leader he hopes to continue to be today.

“There have been quite a few leaders, particularly Richard McBarnet [Founder and Managing Director of Lumina Technologies] that have been inspirational to me,” says Richard.

“He helped me understand the need for personal growth and I listen to a lot of audiobooks about leadership. Why wouldn’t you want to learn from others and disseminate their knowledge? I also have a business coach, Martin Purvis, who introduced me to JPA.”

JPA Workspaces is a second-generation family-owned business and has two family members who continue to work at the company: Fiona Edwards, who is the Head of Sustainability, and Graham Pulsford, who is the Chairman. Richard’s role to advance the company and take the helm means that family members can focus on the aspects of the business they enjoy the most.

The company, which has 21 members of staff, is actively recruiting for several roles. Having recently taken on a Business Development Manager, they are also seeking another business development role, sales support and furniture consultants. By the end of 2025, Richard says he expects the team to have grown to 25 members.

“We have built a team of focused and capable individuals and as the CEO, I mentor their growth,” he adds.

“That’s what I love to do; I love to help people develop their skills and grow. I have supported people who have gone on to start their own businesses and take on more senior roles. I like that I can be a part of people’s journeys and hopefully, have some impact on others.”

As an experienced leader, Richard’s advice to those starting out in leadership roles is to focus on what you can control.

“You need to care about your team but also to be able to challenge them too,” he says.

“That is how people grow.

“Sometimes as a leader, you’re wrong, so you need to listen too. Read books – such as Radical Candor by Kim Scott,

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown and Traction by Gino Wickman – and learn from other experienced leaders along the way too.”

JPA Workspaces has been a member of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce for many years and became a Patron about eight years ago. Fiona Edwards, Head of Sustainability, helped set up the Herts Go Green & Grow group.

“We joined the Chamber for business development, to meet businesses in the local area who might be in the market to acquire furniture and need help with office redesign,” he says.“The Chamber is a good mix of very large businesses, medium and small businesses. They really understand how to go about sustainability and provide pragmatic advice.

“Some of the larger projects we have worked on, such as Sky Elstree Studios, were through a Chamber introduction at an event. We would not have had those opportunities with Sky and BRE Group Building 17 without the Chamber’s introductions. The projects we completed for Sky and BRE were worth £1.5-£2 million over three to four years.”

For more information about JPA Workspaces, visit www.jpa-workspaces.com

We joined the Chamber for business development, to meet businesses in the local area who might be in the market to acquire furniture and need help with office redesign