30 INTERVIEW
The voice of
EXPERIENCE:
keep it SIMPLE
In the first of two interviews with much-respected and high-achieving individuals who have shared OPI’s 30-year journey through our industry, Heike Dieckmann speaks to Steve Haworth, CEO of the UK’s EVO Group of Companies
times, having been in some more peripheral verticals where, quite frankly, I could have hidden and just waited for the pension, is hopefully a good example of how special our space is. As a sector, we are big enough to have scope and scale to be interesting, but small enough to really make a difference.
eing bold and keeping it simple – these are two attributes that have successfully guided Steve Haworth through his long career. And never have these qualities been needed more than now, he says, at a time when our industry is in desperate need of reinvention – and a good dollop of self-confidence.
OPI: What’s your recollection of the major milestones during your career? SH: The US big boxes coming to Europe in the early to mid-1990s was definitely a big one. It’s probably safe to say they’ve failed in their quest (see also Focus, page 40).
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OPI: You graduated in 1992, just under a year after OPI was born, then joined ISA International which ultimately, many years and iterations later, became part of what’s now the EVO Group of Companies. How would you summarise the past three decades? Steve Haworth: Loved every minute. Wouldn’t change a thing. Still learning every day. Met some amazing people. These are the good bits. What distresses me is when we talk our industry, our people and our quality down. We’re as good as anybody else and I think we compare really well with other sectors. The fact that I’ve come back to the heart of this industry three
As a sector, we are big enough to have scope and scale to be interesting, but small enough to really make a difference
I would go as far as to say that the whole globalisation or pan-Europeanisation of the industry hasn’t really worked. But so many entities going down that path – Spicers is another good example – was certainly another milestone. I would also highlight the entry into the market of consumables – EOS to begin with – as being massive. And it took us a long time to work out that
