Wrong trousers…right team
By Steve Hoban (CEO)
I wasn’t looking for a new role when I bumped into Matt Oldham (the owner here at Attenda) at an awards ceremony in London back in Autumn 2020. We’d worked together in 2013 and kept in touch over the years. A few days later, he called and asked if I’d be up for grabbing a coffee with his dad, Geoff, to chat about the business. That one conversation had me hooked and by January 2021, I’d joined the company as CEO.
The business was in a challenging spot at the time, but I was really drawn in by its story, the culture Geoff had built, the team, and the potential. After 30 years in grocery retail, I was stepping into a whole new industry. Add in the fact that it was peak COVID (I couldn’t even meet anyone in person!) and it made for a very strange start. But what stood out most to me in those first few weeks was how welcoming everyone was, and how patient they were while I found my feet.
Since then, we’ve turned things around as a team. Early on, the focus was on stabilising the business, fixing the right things, and rebuilding. Now, I get to think more long-term, how we keep growing, how we innovate, and how we make sure we’re still serving customers 30 years from now.
One of the proudest moments so far was winning back a major customer who had left us in 2020. It was a massive endorsement of the progress we’d made and the hard work that had gone into it. That one really felt like a team win.
What’s kept me here is simple: the people and the momentum. We’ve made huge strides in how we work, moving from operating in silos to becoming far more collaborative across the business. And yet, the culture that Geoff created hasn’t been lost, even as he stepped away and retired. That says a lot about the foundations of the company.
There have been some brilliant moments along the way. Seeing the team on stage accepting the Small Business of the Year award is something I’ll never forget. And, there’s a story involving the wrong trousers – but that one’s best saved for a beer!
If I could give advice to anyone just starting here, it would be to have confidence and speak up. You don’t need all the answers on day one. When I joined, I had no technical or industry background but I knew how to lead people and set direction. That’s what mattered.
Looking back, I’d tell my younger self the same thing: trust yourself. It took me a while to get comfortable, but I learned that leadership is absolutely transferable.
And looking forward? We’ve more than doubled our volume in the past four years, and the plans we have now are ambitious, but achievable. I’m genuinely excited about where we’re heading. My hope is to leave behind a stronger, future-ready business and a team that’s proud of what we’ve done together.