Ones to Watch: Adam Walsh

As part of Family Business Week 2023 we are profiling a series of future family business leaders who are ‘Ones to Watch’.

Adam Walsh

Chief Executive Officer, John Good Group

When Adam Walsh started work as CEO at the John Good Group in January 2022, a previous disposal of one of the company’s businesses meant that he was one of only three employees at Group level.  However, he has in the past two years embarked on an ambitious effort to build a team around him and build the strong foundations for taking the company from the sixth to the seventh generation of family ownership. 

While starting with a small team on Day One challenged Adam to wear a lot of hats, it also afforded him the opportunity to build from the ground up.

Building teams is clearly one of Adam’s strengths. In his first two years, he has created an innovation team and appointed a Chief Innovation Officer, David North. Other key early hires included the appointment of Rich Quelch as Chief Marketing Officer, who has taken that function to “way beyond where we’ve been historically” and Rachel Lowe as Chief People Officer, whose ability to capture and put into practice the values of the six-generation family business is “-incredibly impressive”, according to Adam. “I was fortunate that because it was a blank canvas, I’ve been able to pick people who have the same purpose, the same values… I’ve been able to pick the right people to deliver on our ambition.”

The way he has built a team around reflects his love for working in a family business and his commitment to running a business with purpose – centred around People, Planet and Performance. The latter of those Ps is particularly a priority for Adam. “Our purpose today is to drive performance through our businesses, and with all the additional benefit we create, put that back into either socially beneficial causes through the Matthew Good Foundation or into environmental initiatives” – which may relate to reducing the company’s own impact or to supporting other organisations with similar aspirations. “The purpose is not only shareholder return.”

Taking the helm of a 190-year-old business requires taking the long-term view and building the foundations for the next growth phase to ensure the company is sustainable for future generations. The work isn’t easy or quick. It takes time to align policies and operations with purpose.

To meet its environmental goals, Adam has implemented a comprehensive ESG strategy, and the business is now operationally carbon neutral with a solid reduction strategy in place, based on a carbon footprint baseline developed in 2023. He has actively moving the business into growing markets such as renewables and has initiated systems for tracking and reporting on carbon emissions – even though, because of its small size, the John Good Group is not required to do so.

Adam’s personal journey started with a degree in marketing and progressive roles with the Yorkshire-based Bayford Group. He left to work in the oil industry but came back to Bayford, successfully turning around The Right Fuelcard Company. Soon after his employer was acquired by a French listed company, he realised that “I’m not built for PLC life”.

“Working for a family business just feels right for me”, Adam says. “Family businesses are the only cohort of companies whose concern for the next generation is in its DNA.”

He feels comfortable in the role of understanding a family’s overall aspirations and translating that into a clear purpose for the management team.

An important part of the John Good Group’s business ethos is in supporting charities close to the hearts of staff. This past July, Adam himself completed a one-day cycle ride from the Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire to the Humber Bridge in East Yorkshire, spanning seven counties and 212 miles. In doing so, he raised £8k for three charities that are important to him, Matthew Good Foundation, Sailors Children’s Society and Leeds Hospitals Charity. “It felt right for me to lead by example,” Adam explained, “and I hope that more people will join in next year.”

Given Adam’s leadership qualities, it’s a good bet that he’ll be accompanied by a fleet of cyclists flying the John Good flag next time he takes on that ride.

Read more from about our ‘Ones to Watch’ here.