Long-serving duo bring curtain down on combined 90 years of service

GOOD STINT: Ideal Heating’s chief information officer, John Glanville, and HR director Debbie Skalli are retiring after close to a century of combined service at the manufacturer

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

Two senior leaders at manufacturer Ideal Heating have called time on remarkable careers which span close to a century of combined service.

John Glanville, Ideal’s chief information officer, joined the business in 1977 as a computer operator. Over the course of nearly five decades, he has played a pivotal role in shaping Ideal’s technology strategy.

From pioneering the adoption of mobile communications, to spearheading advancements in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, John has consistently positioned Ideal at the forefront of technological innovation.

Also retiring is Debbie Skalli, Ideal’s HR director, who, in a 41-year career, has had a profound impact on the company’s people strategy, supporting the progression of countless colleagues and maintaining the ethos of Ideal Heating as a family-focused business.

Reminiscing on his past 48 years at Ideal, John joked that his career almost ended as quickly as it began, when he unknowingly parked his car in the space of a senior colleague on his very first day.

He said: “In my interview, I was asked to load a tape into one of the computer room tape drives. I failed the test! Luckily, they looked beyond that, saw something in me, and I got the job in the Computer Operations department.

“I was fascinated by technology and problem solving and have been very fortunate throughout my career to have been involved in some amazing advancements and innovations. This job has also taken me to America, India, Belgium, France and beyond. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

By 1994, John had progressed to running the IT department as IT manager, responsible for both Ideal Boilers and sister company Stelrad.

BACK IN THE DAY: John Glanville pictured in his very early days working as a computer operator

When the business was acquired by Caradon a year later, John was appointed as a member of the group’s IT council. His first major task was to manage the introduction and rollout of Microsoft Office into all countries across the group.

Years later, under the ownership of HSBC, John spent time working in Belgium for sister company Stelrad, before returning to Hull in 2002 as IT director.

For the past nine years, he has served as chief information officer, and after current parent company Groupe Atlantic acquired the business, he supported the company with a large IT programme deployment at its headquarters in Paris.

John said: “I’ve seen so many milestones – from staff receiving mobile phones and the introduction of Cloud-based IT, to more recently the introduction of AI. The challenging opportunities have always been there for me.

“Whenever I’m asked what has kept me here for almost 50 years, it’s a really simple answer – it’s the people. The people I’ve worked with have been amazing, and I’d like to thank each and every one of them for their support and guidance over the years.

“I’ve been blessed to work with fantastic people, and I will miss them all greatly.”

In his retirement, John will enjoy more time to spend with his family and on his hobbies – from playing the piano and sailing, to motorcycling, tinkering with cars, and playing golf.

Fellow retiree Debbie’s introduction to Ideal came through her father Terry Howells, who was formerly the company’s technical director.

LONG SERVICE: Debbie Skalli, pictured centre left, is retiring after four decades of working at Ideal Heating

Having started out in Ideal’s health and safety team, as an assistant, Debbie completed professional qualifications and progressed to become health and safety manager.

She transferred from this to lead the learning and development programme, and then moved to HR before becoming responsible for all three disciplines.

“Ideal Heating was a very different place when I joined the company,” Debbie said.

“Back in my early days, the company was just focused on boilers. We had two foundries and associated machine shops, making cast iron and aluminium castings, a large steel press plant, assembly lines with overhead conveyors, a blacksmiths shop and crate-makers.

“Over 40 years, the shape of our business has changed. Significant investment has been made on site, transforming the working environment. When you look at our product portfolio today, and the technologies we now have across the Groupe Atlantic UK Division, it really has been a remarkable evolution.

“John and myself have been a small part of the story at Ideal, but we’ve seen some of the biggest changes in the company’s history.”

In her 41 years at Ideal, Debbie has nurtured and supported the development of colleagues who have progressed into senior roles within the business.

As a learning and development officer, Debbie was given responsibility for the apprenticeship scheme.

“We’ve had brilliant apprentices coming through the business every year since, many of who are now in managerial positions. I have always been very proud of the scheme and all those who have worked through it,” she said.

A career highlight for Debbie was representing Ideal at Buckingham Palace in 2019, after the business had won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, and meeting King Charles.

John will be succeeded as chief information officer by Barry Dixon, currently Ideal’s chief information officer designate.

Debbie’s role of HR director will be assumed by Miriam Moore, currently HR director designate.