
Managing Director,
Communications Direct Ltd
Finalist: Businesses with more than 250 Employees
Established in 2003, Communications
Direct, is one of the UK’s largest and
fastest growing independent mobile telecommunications
direct sales companies, with over 300 employees
in South Wales and over 500,000 customers nationwide.
Matt Burge has been the principal
driving force behind the company’s phenomenal
growth and success over the past three years.
It was named “Wales’ fastest growing
company” in 2006 and has increased the
number of employees from two to over 300, achieving
a turnover of more than £57m since its
start-up.
The company’s key focus
is on providing customers with cost effective
mobile solutions in the form of the latest handsets
and competitively priced tariffs, the company
has grown from selling 40 phones in the first
month to now selling a phone every 40 seconds
of the working day.
Matt is a fundamental believer
in investing in state-of-the-art technology
and recognises the need to embrace new technology
in every aspect of his business in order to
increase productivity and effectiveness. This
investment has provided enormous flexibility
enabling the company to react to change and
improve processes in an instant.
Matt has also been instrumental
in providing strategic management advice to
other start-up businesses related to the telecommunications
industry This innovative initiative is called
“The Incubator Programme” and one
of its companies, Integrate, that Matt has helped
since its start-up, is fast becoming another
success story.
His ethos is to reward staff
on their performance, and he is committed to
them sharing in the success of his business,
reflected in a comprehensive rewards and benefits
scheme for all staff at all levels. By implementing
a staff development programme which ensures
an establishment of young and fresh thinking
management team, Matt has encouraged an ambitious,
innovative and inclusive attitude.
Matt is a confident, innovative
and creative leader who immediately earns great
respect from those who work with him but more
importantly has great patience when listening
and creates a positive working environment that
engineers opportunities for everyone.