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Q&A with our new Managing Director – Jack Prady

Thermatic Technical FM has appointed Jack Prady as Managing Director, so we thought we’d sit down with Jack to get to know our new Managing Director a bit more.

Can you tell us about your career so far?

The foundations of my career were built as a time served Building Services Engineer, learning my craft in the industrial sector working on various HVAC projects within the construction industry. This later evolved after discovering a passion for customer interaction and managing priorities, I later transferred into the office as a Project Manager. Guiding teams from concept to completion was something I started to really enjoy and my enthusiasm to lead teams started to grow.

Like most Facility Management (FM) professionals, I stumbled into the world of FM after landing a technical role with HOCHTIEF under the stewardship of Steve Gladwin who was Managing Director at the time and later became a great mentor. Shortly after the transition into FM, I soon discovered my technical background and project management experience would prove to be advantageous in the FM industry, the role was well positioned in terms of collaborating and accelerating my knowledge across various support functions, such as mobile engineering, contract and commercial management and the engine room also known as the Helpdesk.

After leaving HOCHTIEF as their Technical Services Manager, I joined NODUS Solutions which was an FM Consultancy, here I predominately worked client side and helped organisations such as The Co-Operative help shape their procurement strategy and implement operational models that would set them up for future success. This role helped shape my collaborative leadership style and establish a deeper understanding of performance from a customer lens.

My passion for working as a service provider grew and moved back to operations with CBRE, here I was responsible for a dedicated mobile engineering and planning team, working with a blue-chip customer, Shell Retail UK.

VINCI Facilities later won the Shell Retail UK contract, and I chose the decision to TUPE, shortly after advancing into the role of Account Director, leading a team of 75fte to deliver an account specific strategy, my role was later topped off with a contract renew and industry recognition for the accounts success. After directing the account for three years, I was recognised as the PFM Account Director of the Year in 2021.  Following the success, I was promoted to Operations Director where I took the responsibility of leading an Electrical services business and supporting the groups acquisition and growth strategy.

Why did you join Thermatic?

First and foremost, I’m incredibly delighted to join Thermatic and proud to be at the helm of such an exciting privately owned business that has been operating across the UK for over 50 years. In terms of the history, Thermatic have continued to retain a reputation of providing a true technical service offering, carrying vast self-delivery capabilities with over 100+ engineers and a very customer centric focused delivery model.

In terms of “why Thermatic”, I see something unique, the opportunity to add my expertise and leadership style to what is already a well-established business with strong foundations presents an incredible opportunity. The future of Thermatic is extremely exciting. My overarching aim for Thermatic is to realise its full potential, there is a long list that sits below the phrase ‘potential’ but in its simplest form, we want to develop our people, ensure Thermatic is recognised as a great place to work and ensure we over deliver for our customers, everything else broadly will be a biproduct of achieving the magic three.

What are your aims for Thermatic and where do you see Thermatic in the next five years?

Initially, the aim is to build more intelligence, get to know the business at a deeper level and spend more time with our people and customers. Collectively as a senior leadership team I look forward to setting some strategic direction for the business and identifying longer term goals that promotes sustainable practises.

What do you see being important in the FM industry at present and what direction do you see the industry moving towards? 

Flexibility and resilience have always been of importance within the FM industry, these traits will remain key for service providers to manoeuvre with the ever-changing needs of customer requirements, legislation, and environmental impacts that we as service providers have a core responsibility to help shape, evolve and ultimately support.

In terms of the direction, rightly so, there continues to be strong trends of social value agenda’s accelerating and of course evolving environmental and net zero ambitions. After my brief spell in post, I’ve been blown away by the maturity of the partnership between Thermatic Technical and Thermatic Energy Services, the ability to join forces to improve the reliability of assets, predict asset failure and reduce energy consumption for our customers is beyond mature and the case studies have been a fascinating read.

What is your ethos? / What will you bring to Thermatic

Since my arrival I’ve been blown away by the passion and enthusiasm expressed across our teams, the hunger to deliver a “good job” to an array of customers has been extremely refreshing. So, with that said, I’d like to think anything I do bring, doesn’t disrupt this culture!

My ethos typically brings people on a journey to ensure they feel empowered, whilst focused on the strategic ambitions we collectively set as leaders, its important everyone at Thermatic knows what they are working towards. In terms of my values, I’m all about collaboration, openness, and integrity, perhaps they are phrases over used, but I would say they best describe who I am, along with keeping things really simple.  Everybody at Thermatic will understand what they are individually and collectively working towards, this often gets lost in the busyness of FM operations.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to challenge myself, so when I have spare time away from my family and kids, I like to push physical boundaries, over the last few years I’ve cycled from London to Paris, ran for 24 hours and I will soon be running from London to Manchester, all for charity of course!

When I’m not out running, I coach my sons under 7’s football team and like to reset/unwind in the sun, usually in Portugal or Croatia.