John Mott, Managing Director

John Mott is the founder and Managing Director of Business Bridge to China and its parent, Southdown Portfolio Limited. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

In 1968 John graduated with an Honours degree in Economics from Manchester University. He subsequently obtained a Diploma in Management Studies from Aston University and attended the Finance for Senior Managers programme run by Bradford University.

For the first 15 years of his working life John was employed in a blue chip environment - holding a series of manufacturing based roles and directorships within the Dunlop (subsequently BTR) group of companies - many of them in difficult turnaround situations.

Based on the success with which he tackled these turnaround appointments John quickly became a 'rising star' within the Dunlop organisation - becoming the Group's youngest ever divisional director at the age of 31.

Having acquired a great deal of manufacturing experience, the last of his roles within the Dunlop organisation saw him appointed as Director - International Trading for the group's Footwear Division.

By controlling supply routes that included China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, this role gave John his first taste of doing business in Asia Pacific - an area of the globe that he has always found especially stimulating in terms of business opportunity.

Although he subsequently left Dunlop to re-focus on his turnaround expertise, this hands-on trading experience was to stand him in good stead.

Headhunted out of Dunlop, John entered the SME environment by becoming the Managing Director of Leisure Industries Ltd - a loss making UK based sporting goods manufacturer. By restoring proper costing disciplines and identifying the means to switch a significant proportion of the company's product sourcing to Taiwan, John enabled the company to be returned to profit - and then to be sold (much to the relief of its plc parent).

He was then headhunted to do the same with A Grantham Ltd - a privately owned but loss making specialist UK clothing manufacturer.

On completion of that five year turnaround assignment, John formed Southdown Portfolio, the parent company of Business Bridge to China.

Initially the new company was used as a vehicle via which John could offer his extensive turnaround expertise to client companies via the banks and venture capital houses that were supporting them.

However, with increasing frequency, a move towards offshore sourcing became a key element of these clients' return to financial health. As a result John found himself spending more and more time in Asia Pacific in his quest for reliable business partners and/or manufacturing locations for them.

In more than 20 years of travelling to Asia Pacific (and to China in particular) John has developed a deep understanding of the business cultures of the region and a wide network of business contacts.

His ability to help client companies across a wide range of industrial sectors to minimise the risk and any pain that can otherwise be associated with a need to transfer production offshore is therefore self-evident.

The service that he offers via Business Bridge to China is a very personal/hands-on one.