Legacy Tributes

John Broome was the Vice President, Operations and Compliance, for the Asia region of the British Standards Institution - Management Systems Certifications (now operating as BSI Group); he served for  15 years from1992 to 2007.  The BSI Group (British Standards Institution) is a global business improvement and standards company and was the World's First national standards body (the United Kingdom's official national standards body). 
Holding his first management role in his early twenties and moving from engineering bias to sales, a move which was later to prove very successful, he never lost his liking for diagnostics with engines, gearboxes and anything which moved. This was another plus in his career as John combined his ‘hands-on approach’ to managing and fixing issues with his business and sales experience. It was also here, as John has explained many times in his working career, that he learnt the valuable lessons behind customer care and meeting customers’ expectations. 
Several years in retail environments followed, during which John Broome held general manager and director posts. In his mid-thirties, John (in his words) ‘broke out of the routine’ and he found himself taking a challenge offered to him, to become regional manager for Scotland with a large UK-based management consultancy. This was also John's first foray into national operations, and he was rewarded many times for his efforts and success. Promotion followed to become responsible for the whole of the midlands (a combination of previously two regions), an area larger than Scotland in terms of business. 
Qualified as an Automotive Engineer in England, a period he readily admits was not his favourite, John also successfully completed a management course which included business legal matters and ‘laws of contract’ subjects he enjoyed. 
John moved into management at a young age, becoming, after a short while, the manager for the sales (trading) division of a local car and truck group. He later joined Firestone Tires (T & A Division) as after-sales manager for a defined area. He found this quite boring and repetitive and soon left, although he still looks back on this short period as his first international company experience. In 1977 he joined the Terry Burgess Group where he managed several operations rising to director / general manager whilst overseeing the retail functions of the Alfa Romeo, Honda and pre-owned vehicle divisions. 
Brought about by recommendation from Honda Car (UK), John joined the IMC group as Regional Manager (Scotland), during which time he was a consultant/advisor to such companies and their dealers as Volvo car, Honda (car and motorcycle), Kawasaki, Volkswagen / Audi, Saab and several dealer groups. Later he took responsibility for the midlands area, an area larger than Scotland. The company was the first to introduce mechanical breakdown insurance into the brown and white goods market. 
Joining Sirron Continental Surveys, as group general manager, John found himself in a group specializing in transportation consultancy, damage limitation, claims handling and insurance investigation, import product quality/inspections and several other smaller business offerings ~ including a retirement home! Building the main division to a profitable situation after only two years, the company became the target of acquisition and was purchased soon after. 
John Broome joined the British Standards Institution (BSI) in 1992 and stayed with BSI for fifteen years. He was instrumental in and was a key player in the development of BSI’s business focus in the Asia region. He took time to convince BSI of its need to be ‘in Asia’ and introduced many senior staff to the concept of business in the region. Some of these people have themselves gone on to greater things.
In 1995, John secured BSI’s (British Standards Institution) first major contract in China, with a state-owned corporation; it was not easy. John attended several trade missions in Beijing (with UK Government members), including one with Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine. John introduced many influential Chinese representatives through BSI to UK Embassy staff, including hosting a major dinner with special guest speaker Sir Christopher Hum, HM Ambassador to China. 
With many ‘firsts’, John has become well known in the International Standard Certification industry. He has appeared many times on Chinese television, often repeated elsewhere. He has been heard on radio and has been quoted in several national newspapers. 
Throughout his career at BSI, John held management posts mainly based in the United Kingdom. He has been involved with many International projects and was a senior member of the international operations delivery team.  He was instrumental in and responsible for delivering/rolling out Business Continuity Management (BCM) for each Asia business unit. John was also a ‘champion’ for clients often seeking clarifications. John has held a six-month interim general manager role with an Australian MNC and management systems organization, another role which was a success. 
John lists some very famous names as clients, with whom he has worked in his career. They include BMW, PSA Group, Volvo, Jaguar, Honda, SAAB, Kawasaki, Yamaha, COSCO, Tor Lines, Cobelfret Ferries, NYK Lines, Comet, Immigration Department of the Hong Kong SAR, British Airways (Cargo), Lufthansa Cargo, DFDS Transport and many others. 
John Broome has found innovative ways of designing and implementing Business Risk Analysis and Business Continuity Management. Although he feels there is still an opportunity for companies to embrace the ethics and practices of systems such as ISO 9001, he feels much is being lost through lack of added value, especially over the last few years, from some certification bodies. He openly says, “Whilst companies watch the finances closely, correctly so, they may be missing key factors of risk that ISO 9001 rarely - if ever - touches on. Management Systems certainly have had and still have a role to play, especially in developing countries and organizations that intend to promote their services. Whilst this is important, organizations need to look closer at some controls which can assist them further. Having a certificate may be important, but not having a quality and risk culture in a company is wasting time.” 
After leaving the British Standards Institution, John took time to rest and consider his next move. In 2007, he founded his own Management System Consulting firm in Hong Kong. He maintained strong ties across Asia as well as with former colleagues and associates worldwide. Keen to leverage these networks for the benefit of Australia, he delivered a special project with SAI Global Standards and Assurance (acquired by Intertek Group in 2021). Later, in 2009, he joined International Standards Certifications (rebranded as Certification Partner Global (CPG) in 2018) as Vice President.

The industry mourned his passing in December 2012 while celebrating his remarkable legacy. John is dearly missed, but his vision and commitment to quality, information security, and business continuity management will always endure.
Visit John's LinkedIn Page: John Broome (LION) | LinkedIn
Visit BSI at: https://www.bsigroup.com/en-AU/
Visit CPG at: https://www.cpg-global.net/
Visit Intertek SAI Global at: https://saiassurance.com.au/