“To be a leader, you have to anticipate, have vision and be self-disciplined.” This could make the shortest possible interview ever, because that comment pretty much encapsulates Roy Wakeman, a highly successful entrepreneur who has made good profits in the doors and joinery industry, where many others have failed dramatically.

However, it would not do justice to a man who came from a family of six children, left school at 16 and was well up the sales pole by 24. At 32 he was already group sales and marketing director of Crosby Doors and by 40 was managing director of Bowater Joinery, a £25m business. Aged 48, Roy became chief executive of Whitecroft plc, incorporating Leaderflush & Longden, Shapland & Petter and Multisecure, the big names in architectural doors. By his 53rd year Roy had completed an MBO to form the LS Group, growing sales from £22m to £40m before selling it in June 2005 to Sheffield Insulation Group for around £40m.

Born in Hull, Roy’s working life began at the Job Centre. “I was asked to pick a card and ended up at Union Cold Storage. After nine months the chief accountant told me he reckoned I’d have his job in 20 years, so I left immediately!”

He joined ML Meyer (Hull) as assistant transport manager and his ‘can do’ attitude soon got him noticed as he learned about products and volumes and completed his IWSc course at night school.

Money was a factor and after three years Roy felt that £11 a week was not enough, so he joined Gliksten‘s in Stratford, London. “I could only afford to go home every fortnight and then they offered me a job at their door factory in Hull, where they were producing 26,000 doors each week and were the third largest player.”

This developed into a sales job, on the road in the East Midlands. “The only problem was I didn’t drive, so I had a crash course, took my test on Christmas Eve and started the following Monday. I doubled the turnover in less than a year.”

Other pursuits

Somehow, amongst all this Roy did have time for other pursuits. “I met Judy on a blind date and we married in 1972. With two marvellous children who’re now well established (Nichola has a fashion label and Robert is a film and music producer), we’re secretly very proud and count ourselves very lucky.”

A stint as sales and marketing manager at Leaderflush Doors was followed by Roy’s biggest jump at that stage – joining Crosby’s architectural division as product manager. “In less than a year I’d become group marketing manager and in the following nine years I went through the ranks, ending up as chief executive, sales and marketing, for Crosby, which by now was a subsidiary of Meyer International.”

Like all careers, Roy’s was never all plain sailing and it has contained many tough decisions. “One of many painful moments was the closure of the Hull door factory and the 1980s recession was a very hard time. I also had many battles along the way, especially over securing a level playing field for sales by Crosby to group and non-group companies.”

In 1984 Roy was headhunted by the Bowater group and took control of its joinery division. “This was then sold to a Swedish venture capital company and we turned the business around from losses of £4m to a profit of £2m. I learned a lot and we then did our own MBO, borrowing £12m, to form Sarek, before selling it to Norcros in 1989. The writing was on the wall, with recession looming and after the merger of Crosby and Sarek I left.”

Churchill had the ‘wilderness years’, Roy Wakeman had the ‘car years’, operating a car dealing business, but a tempting call to run a German subsidiary of Felswerke was soon followed by his re-entry into the joinery business. “In 1995 I became chief executive of Whitecroft Building Products which by 2005 had become the LS Group, turning a break even £10m business into a profitable £40m one, with another MBO along the way.”

Roy’s working life has not only been concerned with his own business. ‘I have been president of the BWF twice and was involved in various consumer campaigns for the industry. My current out of day-to-day work activity is concentrated in the construction industry, with the Construction Confederation and the Construction Products Association. There’s some very heavy lobbying to do and I think it’s fair to say that I’ve put a lot in and also got a lot out for my businesses.”

So, after almost 60 years, with a fantastic track record, is it time for Roy to slow down a little? “Not likely! I’ve accepted the role of CEO for Waltons Garden Buildings, based in Newark…”

It looks as if the industry will still be seeing plenty of Roy in the years to come, so the golf trolley and slippers may have to gather dust for a little while yet.