Dr Neville Bain is almost unique in being both a successful industrialist and management author.
Born in New Zealand, he joined Cadbury Schweppes New Zealand at the age of 19 and by the age of 29 he had been appointed Finance Director. In 1980 he was called to London as Group Strategic Planning Director for the world-wide group of Cadbury Schweppes and within nine months was appointed to the main board of Cadbury Schweppes plc. Following a three year term in this role, he undertook different management posts, including Managing Director Cadbury Europe, Managing Director Cadbury World-wide and finally Deputy Group Chief Executive.
In October 1990, Neville Bain joined Coats Viyella plc as Group Chief Executive. Under his leadership, Coats Viyella leapt from 201st to 27th place in the 1995 Management Today list of Britain's Most Admired Companies.
In 1997 Neville Bain was appointed Chairman of Hogg Robinson plc and in 1998 Chairman of The Post Office. He is a non-executive Director of Scottish & Newcastle plc, Safeway plc and Gartmore Scotland Investment Trust plc. He now sees himself in the 'third phase' of his career, in which, in addition to his business commitments, he can devote part of his time to writing, lecturing and educating a new generation of managers.
Neville Bain is the author of two management books, Successful Management and Winning Ways through Corporate Governance, which he co-wrote in 1996 with Professor David Band. Successful Management was shortlisted for the 1996 Management Consultancies Association Business Book of the Year.
His third book The People Advantage was published in June 1999. It examines how to get the best out of people to maximise the performance of an organisation. In the foreword, Derek Wanless, Group Chief Executive of NatWest Group says, "We can all learn a great deal from it"
The People Advantage: Improving Results Through Better Selection and Performance