The chief executive of Viridor, one of the UK's largest waste management companies, is to feature in an episode of the Channel 4 series, Undercover Boss, at 9pm on Thursday (August 12).
In the show, Colin Drummond goes incognito at Viridor sites across the UK for five days, masquerading as an unemployed worker called John Roy who is seeking employment in the waste sector. Sites visited include those owned by the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and West Sussex county council.
Viridor, which is part of the Pennon Group, is one of five companies to feature in the latest series of the prime-time show, alongside: Best Western Hotels, the Jockey Club, Tower Hamlets council, Harry Ramsden's restaurants and Crown Relocations.
Each show comes to an emotional climax as the boss explains the changes they want to make and the ways in which they want to show appreciation to the employees who've been doing such an outstanding job.
Experience
Mr Drummond said: “This experience has been a real eye opener for me both professionally and personally. It's exposed me to some of the things that we do really well, things we need to work on, and given me a full, rounded view of how the company works on a day to day basis.
“It was hard work, but also very gratifying to be welcomed and helped by my colleagues on site, and especially to hear some of their great ideas about how we can make our sites and services even better. Hopefully their enthusiasm, dedication and straight talking style will come across in the programme.”
Mr Drummond, 59, was born and brought up in Northern Ireland. His father worked in the shipyard before becoming a priest. Mr Drummond describes himself as a driven person, a trait he puts down to the redundancies he witnessed as a child, in the shipyards and aircraft factories of Belfast.
He won a scholarship to read Classics at Oxford University, where he met his wife of 35 years, Georgina. Following a brief stint at the Bank of England, he went to the United States for a post graduate business degree at Harvard University.
Since becoming chief executive of Viridor 18 years ago, Mr Drummond has transformed the company from a small business with 200 workers into a waste management giant, with over 3,000 employees.
The episode of Undercover Boss featuring Viridor will appear on Channel 4, Thursday August 12 at 9pm. The series began on July 15.
Preview clips of the show can be seen at: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/undercover-boss/video/series-2/episode-5/viridor
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