Doing what is right, rather than what is easy, is critical to making a lasting impact in the world of turnaround and restructuring. It had also become something of a mantra for our friend David Triesman, whom we have sadly lost in recent days.
Lord Triesman wasn’t a businessman through-and-through; yet he brought to the boardroom what Liam Neeson might call “a very particular set of skills, acquired over a very long career.” Operating as academic, trade union leader, Football Association chairman, government minister and, ultimately, merchant banker, David always focused on action and positive outcomes, rather than mission statements. Never interested in self-aggrandisement, he was instead driven by integrity, decency and that increasingly rare quality of common sense.
Invited over the years to review several emperors’ new clothes, David would, speedily yet with great courtesy, deploy the wise counsel he had developed through decades of experience and achievement to move a debate or business situation on to a more realistic path, invariably leading to an optimal solution.
This grasping-the-nettle approach didn’t stop with raising concerns and floating a couple of alternative ideas; David’s modus operandi was equally rooted in painstaking research and detailed analysis. On asking to review a business’s books, he was known to lock himself away in a room until he was done, with the simple request that fresh coffee should be left at the door at frequent intervals.
So it was that David and I came to work together on what became his last major assignment – and one of his toughest. Appointed Chair of the historic Dartington Hall Trust and its beautiful Devon estate in spring 2023, David soon discovered the full extent of its fragile financial position. He immediately became the architect of its turnaround strategy, laying a foundation for stability that will benefit the organisation for years to come.
An unwavering commitment saw his tenure as Chair and, after stepping down in recent months to remain as Trustee and Chair Emeritus, defined by pivotal achievements: guided by his steady hand at the helm, the Board and Executive Management navigated significant challenges including a major organisational restructuring, substantial operational changes and a refinancing. Quite simply, the troubled Dartington – unwittingly a small number of months away from falling into administration – that he found on joining would not exist today without the mission he undertook. He has left an indelible mark on the Trust and a profound legacy.
These days, it seems that the key task of a senior figure operating in public life or in business is appeasing the most vocal faction seeking to influence strategy; the squeaky wheel gets the oil. David’s keenness for developing collective purpose through honest debate ensured that a tail trying to wag the dog never got in the way of doing what was right. We will remember him professionally for his strong sense of accountability and unflinching moral compass. On a personal level, I and many colleagues will miss terribly his warmth, generosity, kindness, sense of humour and great company.
Our thoughts are with David’s wife, Lucy, and his daughter, Anna Ilona.
May he rest in peace.
David Buchler
Written by David Buchler, chairman at Buchler Phillips, a UK based independent boutique firm with an impeccable Mayfair heritage, specialising in corporate recovery, turnaround, restructuring and insolvency.
Photo credit ©Martin Levenson; photo taken during Buchler Phillips’s corporate event at No.11 Cavendish Square, on 19th September 2023.