Matthew Chuck

Matthew is a rounded business practitioner and thinker, bringing his strategic skills, experience and insights to organizations ranging from multi-national corporations and medium size enterprises to ‘one-man-bands'. He has worked across the industrial spectrum in commercial functions, both in the UK and continental Europe , as a Consultant to organisations large and small, and as a Trustee of one of Europe 's largest International Schools.

A degree in Chemistry in 1970 paved the way for a career in industry that in 1986 began a lengthy spell with the Chemicals division of Alcoa - the Aluminum Company of America . About half of this time was spent as sales director at the European HQ in Frankfurt , turning over around € 120 million annually.

The move to Germany brought Matthew's three children to the Frankfurt International School, and to whose Board Matthew was an elected Trustee for 5 years. In this time he chaired various committees, founded and became the first chair of the Trustees' (Governance) Committee, and for two years was the Treasurer. He happily acknowledges the work of previous treasurers in establishing sound systems and finance; he himself developed a simple but effective long term forecasting tool, and effectively communicated the shape and structure of the finances to fellow board members, administration, parents, and faculty, many of whom confessed they had found them a complete mystery before!

He returned to the UK in 2002 to set up his own consulting business. His clients now range from corporations such as DuPont, for whom he helps to deliver their customized safety management programmes to major companies around the world, to emerging small businesses that prize his unique ability to help them prioritise their activities and plan their business growth.

Matthew has also maintained his close links with International schools, utilising the experience and interest he developed in Frankfurt , and his grasp of strategic thinking and analysis. Together with his professional partner Adele Hodgson , he has co-written pragmatic guides to Strategic Planning and Governance in International Schools, spoken at ECIS and CASE conferences, and worked on the strategic plans of schools across Europe .

The common thread running through Matthew's career and current services is the development of a clear vision, a strategic approach to achieving it, and establishing tight linkage between this high-level planning and the more detailed plans and activities that make up day-to-day operations. It really is irrelevant how large or small the organization is, or what it does: a one-man-band needs it just as much as a corporation, a school or a retail business just as much as an oil company.