Meet the Newest Member of The Team

With twenty-five years of sales and account management experience, Sarah Powell has quickly become a key player in the growth of Hythe Marine Services (HMS). 

Her in-depth industry knowledge will lead HMS in new directions and further develop the existing client relationships that the company is built upon. We spoke to Sarah to get to know more about who she is, her career, and her goals for the new role.

Introducing Sarah Powell

Throughout her career, Sarah has held a range of roles including Strategic Director and Commercial Manager within a range of sales industries.

These roles generally involved Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Services, covering exhibitions, finance, industrial and retail hygiene equipment and recycled aggregates. Her latest role now sees her joining the marine services industry as Head of Sales for Hythe Marine Services, part of the Hythe Group.

In her free time, Sarah loves nothing more than being out on the water.

“I am a sailor and have spent most of my life afloat in anything from small dinghies to racing yachts. I fell in love with paddleboarding 4 years ago while on holiday in France and try to get afloat most weekends, even in the winter.”

Sarah tells us she loves paddle boarding due to how much easier it is to get set up than a boat, and the fact her dog can (reluctantly) hitch a ride!

After moving down south five years ago from North Wales, Sarah loves to explore all the beautiful countryside and coastline the area has to offer.

Career Successes

When we asked Sarah about the proudest moment of her career so far, she told us “I am extremely proud of a lot of what I have achieved in my career – from winning business from major competitors, to becoming the preferred supplier for the largest players in the retail and grocery sectors.”

She also spoke about the work she put into developing relationships over the years, and, as a result, the level of trust and respect those clients have in her.

Sarah puts her success down to a focus on understanding her customers’ unique needs and challenges, in order to provide the right solutions. Sarah explained, “Success comes down to being dependable and trustworthy, and always doing what you said you were going to do. Never tell someone you can do something when you can’t.”

Using this foundation, Sarah has created relationships that evolve into partnerships. As opposed to the usual customer-supplier dynamic, this gives companies the ability to grow with their customers.

What Will The New Head of Sales Be Doing?

In Sarah’s words, “From a really solid foundation under the leadership of Josh, I want to build a strong commercial structure with which to support his existing customers and develop new relationships across new markets including the construction and renewable energy sectors.”

To achieve this goal, Sarah will be managing the relationships within the existing customer base to ensure they receive the best support and services we can deliver on a day to day basis. There will also be a large focus put on developing new relationships and growing the commercial business.

And as a crucial part of her role, Sarah will be working closely with the team at HMS. Sarah explained, “I’ll be liaising with the existing estimators, workshop teams and account managers to ensure a consistent approach and communication, all the while keeping the customer experience at the forefront of our minds.”

Sarah’s Goals and Vision for Head of Sales at HMS

Sarah has significant experience in creating and implementing a commercial structure from scratch. And although HMS is a little smaller than the large organisations Sarah has previously worked for, the process and deliverables are all scalable. Sarah told us, “The foundations and ethics are of the same importance whether you are a large bluechip company or an SME.”

Sarah joked that the only difference at HMS is that there may be more ‘characters’ at HMS than anywhere she’s worked previously!

Speaking on her vision for her role, she explained, “I want to create and embed a very strong commercial structure within HMS that ensures we provide the very best service and support for our customers now and for the future. Integrity, trust, resilience and reliability are key factors for us and our customers.”

As an agile, innovative and intelligent business, HMS has a lot to offer across a wide range of industries. Sarah is particularly passionate about the planet and the future of sustainable and renewable fuels.

HMS is ideally placed geographically, technically and operationally to be able to support these sectors on and offshore, and Sarah and the team see that as a large part of HMS’ future.

Get in touch with the team through our contact form, or connect with Sarah on LinkedIn directly to discuss your upcoming projects.