Executive Chairman, Castleoak Care Partnerships.

WINNER : Businesses with less than 250 Employees

Castleoak Care Partnerships is the UK’s leading specialist design and construction company working exclusively in the field of social care for older people.

With a clear business objective in mind, Mel has lead Castleoak to a position of pre-eminence in a specialised market which provides social care for older people.

By maintaining a positive work/life balance, Mel sets a real example for staff to follow. At the same time his strong desire to positively affect the communities in which the company works is embraced by all staff through the operation of an award winning community support programme.

He has been instrumental in the creation of an office culture that does away with blame replacing it with learning, swaps office politics for openness and honestly and recognizes and rewards talent.

Commitment to the pursuit of excellence and the fulfillment of individual potential are at the heart of Mel’s leadership style. Staff training needs are identified on an individual basis and an appropriate programme is put together. This includes a mixture of classroom and field based training. It also relates to technical, job specific needs and to broader areas of personal development.

Mel always has the bigger picture at the forefront of his mind and has developed a collaborative approach with staff, customers and suppliers. This approach has resulted in genuine and lasting partnerships, which are of mutual benefit to all parties involved.

He believes that team motivation is key to Castleoak’s success and as a result has developed a living, breathing staff communication programme. This includes weekly team talks, monthly newsletters, an annual conference as well as regular social events.

In 2005 Castleoak was ranked the best small company to work for in Wales and the 4th best in the UK according to the Sunday Times 100 Best SME Companies to Work For. Turnover of staff is very low and Castleoak is increasingly being acknowledged as a great place to work.

Mel epitomizes what’s best in a business leader – sound thinking, great determination and focus, a willingness to share rewards and an absolutely genuine sense of social responsibility.