Profile - Dave Sewards: Panel beater who learned how to put a dent in business world

Dave Sewards certainly hadn't, until he tried to devise a TV advertising campaign for online gaming company, Partygaming.

He soon discovered that there really is no universal sense of humour. Italians, it seems, will not laugh at everything.

As chief executive of the Home marketing group, he has to ensure clients aren't let down by a single dodgy joke.

"We recently, did some work for Partygaming in Italy,'' he recalled. "We were coming up with jokes for guys to use in the TV commercials that we thought were hilarious. But the Italians just didn't get them.

"We were doing mother-in-law jokes. You would assume they work the world over, but they thought they were offensive. The jokes we have run in Italy are based on two chickens squabbling over who is the fastest racing driver. Our sense of humour is ironic. The Italians are very slapstick. But if it's working, don't knock it."

This pragmatism is typical of a man who might have spent the last three decades repairing cars that have been knocked around a bit.

Born in Middleton, Leeds, his first job was as a panel beater – a trade that couldn't be further removed from the witticisms of talking chickens.

"The first year of panel beating was rough. I realised that I needed to think about what I wanted to do longer term,'' he said. "I was passing the Job Centre one day and there was an advert for a trainee accountant. It sounded like a proper job. I went for an interview and, amazingly, got it, even though I didn't know what an accountant was. They must have seen something and decided to give me an opportunity."

So a career devoted to numbers beckoned, until he happened to visit Brahm, the Leeds-based marketing and public relations firm in 1986, while working for accountants Freedman Ross.

"What happens with most careers is you find a bit of luck and then you maximise it,'' he recalled. "I did the audit when I was working with the accountants at Brahm. At that stage, there were 10 people working there and they were obviously going to expand. I asked them to give me a call if they needed somebody to do their accounts.

"Three months later I got a call saying they had won the Porsche business and they needed some more support in accounts. They offered me a job and that was my first exposure to advertising, design and marketing."

Brahm enjoyed rapid expansion in the mid to late 1980s, and Mr Sewards found that he had skills that extended beyond accountancy. He shifted his focus to advertising, design and marketing.

After 10 years at Brahm, he joined the Leeds-based Charles Walls Group which brought him into contact with Paul Sykes, who along with Eddie Healey, built the Meadowhall shopping centre on the site of a former steelworks.

At the time, Mr Sykes was preparing to make his debut on the political stage as a passionate opponent of the euro.

"It was my first day at Charles Walls Group, and Paul Sykes contacted the agency because he wanted some support for his work on saving the pound which he was working on with Sir James Goldsmith,'' said Mr Sewards.

"Paul and I hit it off immediately. We've worked together for the last 15 years.

"Paul is one of those people who looks to see in others what he sees in himself. About five years into our relationship, he suddenly said, 'You grew up in a council house, didn't you lad?'"

"When you get to meet somebody like Paul and see his passion for a subject you get caught up in it. He's an inspirational character and a very clear thinker. Hopefully, I've learned a little bit from him."

Eight years ago, he decided to establish Home, using the strategic skills he had picked up at Brahm and Charles Walls.

"I thought I could bring the right sort of people together and build my own business,'' he said. "I got a team together and managed to obtain the funding from Paul (Sykes). He doesn't even give his kids the sort of money he lent us. We paid him back, two years later, as instructed. We thought we could build a business with like-minded people."

The polite, patient Mr Sewards believes that many firms in his sector let themselves down by being too brash. Nobody likes being talked down to. He has followed Mr Sykes's advice and hasn't courted publicity until he feels he's got something to say.

"One of the things that agencies get wrong is that they don't get close enough to their clients,'' he said. "It's very easy to believe that you know best. We've worked very closely with our clients and that has stood us in good stead over these last eight years.

"The busiest account is Jet2; we've worked with them just about since their inception.

"When Philip (Meeson, the chief executive of Jet2.com) came to see us, he had one aircraft flying from Leeds Bradford to six destinations. They've now got 30 odd aircraft from seven bases flying to 42 destinations. Their growth has mirrored ours. That's been the bedrock that's allowed us to bring in other clients."

The company works on global television adverts for Partypoker and Partycasino – which are part of Partygaming.

"The ads we did at the back end of last year are now running in 14 countries around the world," he said.

"The clients are coming in. We've had a record year, we've increased turnover and profit year-on-year. This year has started phenomenally well against an awful backdrop."

Back in early 2008, Mr Sewards was braced for difficult times, and adjusted his business plans accordingly.

"Two and a half years ago, Paul Sykes told me exactly what was going to happen. He told me exactly which banks were going to be in trouble. His advice was to keep our tin helmets on for two years, and don't take cash out of the business. As things start to settle, you look to acquire and build."

Today, Home has 70 staff, turns over 9.5m, and the Home marketing group includes search and social media marketing agency Homejames.

Perhaps surprisingly, the gambling sector had proved relatively recession-proof.

"I'm a gambler myself, and most gamblers are optimists; often blind optimists," said Mr Sewards. "The mentality of the gambler is, 'When things are tough I'll win money'."

His love of gambling is reflected in his decision to buy a stake in the racehorse Rutba.

"She's injured and on box rest for two months. She won three races for us last year,'' he said.

"Every element of business is a gamble. But what you do not do is make a blind judgment. You weigh up all the facts. With horse racing, you are looking at things like the going and the horse's form.

"In business you are taking on board all the elements that would affect your decision."

Ever the innovator, Mr Sewards is looking for new staff and clients.

The company's latest campaign for Partycasino.com features the former cricketer Phil Tufnell. Given Mr Sewards' sensitivity to cultural nuance, we can safely say that the humour in this commercial won't revolve around the musings of poultry.

DAVE SEWARDS

Title: CEO of the Home Marketing Group

Date of birth: January 9 1967

Education: Not a lot to speak of!

First job: Panel beater

Favourite song: Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto Number Two

Car driven: BMW X5

Favourite film: Casablanca

Favourite holiday destination: Las Vegas

Last book read: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

What I am most proud of: My 74 not out for Rodley 2nds v Farnley in the Cawthorne Cup Quarter Final in 2006