About Factura

Professional Team

Mike South was awarded a Group Scholarship by GKN and in 1978 graduated with an Honours Degree in Engineering Science from the University of Exeter. Following training within GKN's manufacturing companies, he worked for GKN Technology, covering manufacturing and product development.

After successfully completing the EITB Fellowship in Manufacturing Management, he worked for special vehicle and domestic appliance manufacturers in production management and control. A period in a logistics and productivity improvement consultancy also provided valuable commercial experience.

He joined Jonathan Lee Recruitment in 1986, becoming a Partner in 1990. He led a number of major recruitment projects, including the recruitment of the launch team for Toyota in the UK. As Managing Director he made a major internal contribution to recruiting the people who now constitute its management team. He led the development of its services in Executive Search, assessment centre design, psychometrics and retention techniques, and its highly successful penetration into such as aerospace, defence and "lean" related markets.

Mike has been highly committed to training and people development initiatives within the engineering industry, and in encouraging young people's participation through such programmes as Primary Engineer, The Year in Industry and The Learning Grid.

In 2002 he established Factura as a leading Executive Search consultancy. Mike has recruited extensively across many industries for a multitude of CEO, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing, Operations, Technical, Finance and other Director level appointments. He also remains the most experienced recruiter within the UK for senior "Lean" professionals.



Steve Hicks was a Ford graduate trainee, attaining a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Hatfield Polytechnic. He joined Aston Martin Tickford, obtaining people and project management experience, before transferring to the then sister rail company, Beclawat, where he established a new joint venture.

In 1989 he assumed his first Directorship at Adwest, as Engineering Director, with responsibility for design and development and innovative new steering products. He then became Sales & Marketing Director for Melfin, later participating as a member of the MBO team which developed a much larger and successful business. Following its acquisition by Magna, the business went on to secure key JIT plant business.

More recently he has spent two years as UK Sales Director at a key automotive business, followed by a successful project to manage its factory rationalisation in preparation for a new joint-venture.

Steve's versatility and great experience, his depth of knowledge of business and ownership, included many recruitment and team building activities, has allowed him to be highly successful as an Executive Search consultant.



Mike Woodhouse graduated from Oxford with an MA(Hons) in Engineering Science before becoming a Civil Engineer working on large projects with Taylor Woodrow, and learning on-site man management and project delivery skills. He then retrained at Aston University with an MSc in Digital Electronics and moved into the sales and commercial world in the UK and Internationally with Lucas Aerospace, Metal Box and more latterly ITT Flygt where he led the introduction of sole supply agreements with the UK Water Companies.

He has held Managing Director and Sales Director roles with UK subsidiaries of global companies including ITT and Tomkins, supplying products, services and facilities management, undertaking M&E contracting, and distributing to the Utilities and Oil & Gas Industries.

At QinetiQ he was Business Group Manager of an Incubator Group and Director of QinetiQ Airport Radar: launching unique and highly profitable international products and services into the Communications, Aerospace, Security and Transport markets. Working with the University of Bristol he helped set up, and was Non Executive Director of, 3CR Ltd, a DTI funded research company within Communications, Computing and Content, in partnership with major companies including Toshiba, HP, Compaq, Granada Media, STMicroelectronics and local hi-tech spin out companies.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. He sits on the A|D|S (Aerospace and Defence Trade Body) Sector Strategy Group.

A champion of excellence in Customer Service and Delivery, he has experience in building highly motivated teams in sales, customer service, R&D, scientific research and general management, and a successful track record in business growth, new product and service innovation, company integration, turnarounds and sales.



Adrian Davis is our latest addition to the team. Having completed an Engineering Diploma, Adrian became a graduate commercial apprentice at TRW and received an Honours Degree from Bristol Polytechnic.

He joined TRW’s UK Steering Components group, then transferring to their Paris-based French division where, over a five year period, he became Sales Director. Moving to Stuttgart, he managed three European technical sales offices for Gleason Corporation, supplying capital equipment for bevel and hypoid gear sets, before joining Eften, a Japanese interior trim group where he successfully established a technology transfer with a European licensee.

In 1989 Adrian joined Valeo in his first general management position, creating a Greenfield clutch assembly plant in the UK, deploying the Valeo Production System based on lean manufacturing principles. He subsequently transferred to the US division in Detroit.

Relocating to Europe, Adrian joined the corporate team at CarnaudMetalbox in Paris at the outset of the ‘World-Class Manufacturing’ project that oversaw the introduction of lean manufacturing principles to this international packaging group. After two years he transferred to the UK to become Operations Director of the Food sub-group and ran four manufacturing plants, deploying the WCM programme in depth.

Returning to the Automotive industry, in 1997 Adrian became Business Director for T&N’s European engine bearings group, Glacier Vandervell, with responsibility for manufacturing plants in Scotland, France and Italy. Here, the focus was plant turnaround and product line rationalisation.

In 1999 Adrian joined Plastic Omnium as UK Country Director and Business Director of two Automotive Exterior plants (injection moulding and paint processes), at a time of strong growth.

He became Group Managing Director of Rical, a privately owned group of process engineering SME’s, before joining Factura in 2010.

Adrian’s success and breadth of international general management experience and connections across different industrial sectors gives him an excellent platform to bring solutions for Factura’s clients.