Mason Advisory with The Weir Group

Strategy

Weir Group is a global engineering firm employing nearly 12 000 people in over 50 countries. In 2020, the business comprised three separate divisions brought together with a light-touch centralised governance model: each business within the divisions (ESCO, Minerals, and Oil & Gas) was empowered to operate autonomously with responsibility for key IT design decisions and spend.

Weir needed robust and secure platforms to support its growth, but it was apparent that the siloed delivery of technology services and associated support didn’t align to these plans, and the existing approach to IT governance could potentially limit Weir’s ambitions for strategic growth. The board recognised that a different strategy was required and the appointment of new CIO, Garry Fingland, began the journey to refresh Weir’s approach to IT. With a successful partnership history in delivery, and strong professional ties, Fingland turned to Mason Advisory to help shape his strategic thinking and deliver a global Information Services &Technology (IS&T) Operating Model and Transformation Programme – fixing the fundamentals, evaluating costs, building investment cases, and embedding our consultants within Weir to bring the divisional teams together.

The business had struggled to unify its global IT service in the past, and we knew that engaging with stakeholders in the divisions was critical. But the federated nature of the business meant this wasn’t’ going to be easy – with cultural variations in working styles and teams operating across times zones.  Mason Advisory’s approach gave the divisions a voice, and ensured they were fully invested in the change of strategy, building a cohesive roadmap that everyone owned and felt able to deliver.

The strategy provided the building blocks for much more reliable and secure core technology services – and gave assurance to the business that IS&T could scale with the ambitions of the group. Achieving board approval, it identified a reduction in like-for-like annual combined run costs of c. GBP6 million, brought technology spend within industry benchmarks, and offered an affordable reinvestment strategy to modernise core technology services. The emergence of Weir IS&T as a new global function was integral to the overall strategy, and with our help, Fingland succeeded in building business confidence in global IS&T delivery.

I valued their practitioner-led approach and had a high level of trust in their ability to deliver. They didn’t disappoint – the Mason Advisory team showed amazing commitment during the project, often going above and beyond to deliver high quality outcomes. They understood the scope of the challenge and offered solutions that we could flex with…the team demonstrated excellent engagement skills, building a strong rapport with the internal Weir team, and gaining their respect.

Garry Fingland, CIO – Weir Group

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