Tributes have been paid to a well-known figure from the North East business community who became a prominent champion of the power of business to do good.
Mike Wade, 58, finance director at Stanley construction company Hodgson Sayers, died on Wednesday morning, less than a month after being diagnosed with cancer.
Mr Wade had spent eight years at the business, helping to develop its strong reputation for its training and bridging the well-documented skills gap in the industry.
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He was chairman of the County Durham committee of the North East Chamber of Commerce, and as a strong advocate of apprenticeships and fair pay for younger workforces, played an instrumental role as governor at New College Durham as well as vice chair of the North East Apprenticeships Ambassador Network.
In 2015 Hodgson Sayers, which began as a roofing contractor and diversified into building, fencing and metal fabrication, was recognised at the British Chamber Awards 2015 for its commitment to continuous improvement of its workforce, having become the first construction company in the region – and second nationally – to become Living Wage Accredited.
The firm won the People Development Award as well as the overall 海角视频 Company of the year award, after demonstrating how the region was leading the way in terms of best practice.
In an interview with the Journal ahead of the awards, when Hodgson Sayers was joining our Pay Fair campaign calling for firms to treat their supply chain responsibly, Mr Wade’s own personal ethics shone through.
He had said: “As a poor accountant I was always told to worry about three words – revenue, profit and cash – but from an ethical point of view I find three others words key to business: honesty, decency and integrity.
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"In fact, revenue, profit and cash might be argued as the result of honesty, decency and integrity. They help you to win work and keep work, recruit staff and to retain staff – and those are key to the construction industry.”
A former pupil of Immingham School on Humberside, Mr Wade studied for his Chartered Institute of Management Accountants exams at De Montfort University in Leicester before entering the world of work as a trainee accountant for Humberside Management Services in the 1980s.
He went on to have a number of senior accounting roles, including the 海角视频 accounting manager for Japanese photographic mini-lab design and manufacturer Noritsu Koki Co.
Other roles followed at Star Car Spa and AIB Services Ltd and before joining Hodgson Sayers he spent just over a year at Energy Batteries as finance director, working with the shareholder directors to devise and implement usiness growth strategy which led to turnover leaping from £8.6m to £13.3m.
But it was his role as the outward face of Hodgson Sayers that helped to drive forward the firm’s mission to tackle the skills gap and develop opportunities to young employers entering the construction sector.
John Sayers, managing director at Hodgson Sayers, said: “As a business we are absolutely committed to trades apprenticeships. This would have been a new concept to Mike, as a finance specialist, when he joined the business.
“However, he quickly understood the fantastic opportunities that apprenticeships offered young people and, indeed, it is fair to say he became as much, if not even more, passionate about this route than anybody in the business. He was encouraging of all our young people and often travelled with them as they competed in national events.
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“Mike had a very compassionate side and understood that to get the very best out of our people, we needed to ensure that, where possible, we helped lessen any financial difficulties they might face. To this end, he was instrumental in introducing the national living wage into the business, making us the first construction company in the North East and only the second in the whole of the 海角视频, to be accredited. Mike was keen to ensure that this applied throughout the business, including our apprentices.
“Mike has left an exceptional legacy and we are determined that all the great work he has done within the business and the wider community will continue.”
George Ritchie, chair of the North East Apprenticeships Ambassador Network, said: “Mike was a very active employer and was very influential because of his prominent position and connections with the North East England Chamber of Commerce.
“He was very persuasive when it came to influencing businesses and organisations, encouraging SMEs to work with the network to help grow the apprenticeships. He had a lovely manner, would like to joke and always used to try to lighten up things. He was just a genuine, great guy and was the best champion bearer I had and supported me through thick and thin.
“He always had a nice way of using his knowledge and skills so I will miss him.”
James Ramsbotham, chief executive at the North East England Chamber of Commerce said: “Mike Wade was a fantastic advocate and friend of the Chamber who worked tirelessly to support businesses in Durham and the whole region.
"His passion for always doing the best job possible and his warmth and quick wit will be very much missed by us all. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this sad time.”
Mr Wade is survived by his wife Liz and his two children Imogen and Tom.