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Roy Leighton
• About a year ago when Roy Leighton joined William Nuttall Transport as deputy managing director, he moved to the North West from London and bought a 17th century cottage at Saddleworth, on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, and then set about the long job of renovation.
Now, after three months in his new position as managing director and chairman of WNT it might be said that once again Roy Leighton has started to "put his house in order".
Roy, a Scot, who immediately strikes one as a man who knows his way round big business, is quick to admit that the past three months have not been easy. 'There. has been 8 lot of hard work for everybody in the company," he says. "But now we are really getting results."
Trained as a chartered accountant in Glasgow, Roy Leighton joined the Stirling Health group, and believing at that time that Britain would eventually join the EEC, specialized in the European end of the market. After returning to Scotland for a short while to look after the family construction business he moved to Knight Wegenstein Ltd, an American /Swiss firm engaged in management and engineering consultancy. It was here that Roy broke away from accountancy and entered into the management field, gaining valuable experience in distribution.
From management consultancy, Roy then moved into transport proper by becoming financial controller for all the Tate and Lyle transport group's interests.
With this type of history, it goes without saying that Roy Leighton at the age of 31 has acquired a modern approach to management techniques. He believes in team work and worker participation, and proudly says that throughout what must be described as a difficult period the WNT staff all worked together and maintained a "very good spirit".
Roy also believes in "commercial honesty" — and he has no time for "yes men" in business.
Obviously, he has recently been heavily engaged in coping with the DPL take-over bid for Nuttall, but when business is not running at such a hectic pace, Roy enjoys his odd game of "indifferent golf" and is very fond of travelling. T.O.T.