I'm very pleased that Drake and Farrell has successfully exited its business and sold it to a Waterland private equity-backed business called The Logical Group.

It is wonderful news, and it brings back memories of Istanbul in 2019, when I received a call from David Engel, a friend and colleague who was being recruited by the founder of Drake and Farrell, Jan Flens, to become the CEO of Drake and Farrell.

That kicked off an amazing five-year journey that culminated in this exit, which more than doubled the business's valuation to a world-class European private equity company. 

People ask, ‘What made the difference?’ I've been involved with the company for five years now, and I think I can offer just a few key points about why this has been a successful journey.

First of all, the founder, Jan Flens, knew that he wanted to bring in a world-class CEO, and he found a great one in David Engle. I think that he had the raw talent, capability, understanding, and market knowledge to be successful. David came in and immediately focused on core operations, strengthening them and creating a basis for scaling the business.

The second thing he did was spend many, many months and years building the management team—both by recruiting the right people, bringing them in, and reforming them, and also by investing extensively in the management team through training and development. 

I think that created a basis for growth and a basis for being highly attractive to an investor and an acquirer.

The other thing that happened was a really thoughtful approach to growth strategy—how to grow the business in a highly competitive and sometimes commoditized business. So, having a strong strategy around electronic vehicle charging and the reverse supply chain logistics related to that, as well as the MedTech and WellTech space, made all the difference.

Finally, I think we spent a lot of time and made some errors. But in the end, we developed a critical exit strategy that fits the business and the market. 

One must take time on this and get great advice on, great help. So, my being on the advisory board, effectively sitting and advising the CEO, the founders and other shareholders on this process, meant that, in time, we were able to really achieve a great result. 

A great business had been founded, but one that had been further developed, strengthened and professionalized through an outstanding CEO.

I'm very grateful to be part of that success story.