Axter has appointed Shaun Lotay as its new technical director to drive forward the business’ strategic thinking.
Shaun started his role at the business in March following a career in the flat roofing sector in a number of technical roles. He is also a founding director and chair at the Bitumen Flat Roofing Association, alongside Axter’s managing director Phillip Wilcox-Moore.
Shaun said: “The company culture was a huge deciding factor on me coming here. Hearing the passion Phillip and his team have not only about flat roofing but sustainability was exciting.
“Company culture is very important to me – a lot of companies will talk about their culture and being people focused but Axter actually live it every day.”
After studying forensics at university, Shaun was offered an administration role at a roofing contractor and later moved into contracts management and quantity surveying. He then moved to a construction product supplier in a sales role and was given the task of growing the business so it could afford a technical department. On hitting this target, he created and led the company’s new technical department, before moving to another large waterproofing company in an operational management role.
He added: “My approach with a new business is not to assume I know anything, I like to come in with an open mind and find out for myself.
“There’s an opportunity to discover potential blind spots in the business, comparing what the business thinks of itself to what the directors have written as strategy or intent. We can then identify where there might have been strategic drift.
“In broader terms, I want to establish Axter as the de facto leader in technical information relating to roofing and waterproofing in the UK market.”
