Simon Salem, CRT’s Marketing Director, is to leave CRT in June next year, it was announced on Friday. The announcement comes only 5 months after CRT publicised plans to restructure its management teams, a re-organisation that appeared to leave Mr Salem with very little to do.
Simon Salem was noted for being the line manager of the hated Sally Ash, former Head of Boating, who fronted the attempted erosion of the rights of boat dwellers without home moorings by British Waterways and CRT between 2003 and 2014. Many of the policies that it was Sally Ash’s job to implement were pursued at Simon Salem’s instigation. We believe that Mr Salem’s position became very exposed after Ms Ash’s “retirement” in June 2014. The ineptitude of Sally Ash meant that she took all the criticism for policies and schemes that would have been within a strategy set by her line manager.
Simon Salem
CRT Chief Executive Richard Parry’s announcement was effusive in its thanks to Mr Salem, but this departure leaves Mr Parry’s coup almost complete, having removed most of the “old guard” of former BW directors and long-serving senior managers who survived the transition to CRT. Nigel Johnson and Sally Ash have “retired”. Philip Ridal is also retiring next year. Former CEO Robin Evans left in May 2013 after what appeared to be a dispute with the Trustees over the repairs to the breach on the Trent and Mersey and Jim Stirling took a golden handshake in the transition to CRT having been in the wrong place at the wrong time to achieve his desired goal of returning “home” to head the new BW Scotland. Unfortunately the attack on the rights of boat dwellers without home moorings continues, led by the IWA through its role in the CRT Council. Officials or active members of the IWA hold all four of the elected private boating seats on the CRT Council. The IWA has long been opposed to the interests of itinerant liveaboard boaters.
This article by Simon Robbins gives an excellent analysis of Mr Salem’s role http://liveaboard-forum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/winds-of-change-at-canal-and-river-trust.html#more
See also
http://kanda.boatingcommunity.org.uk/crt-restructuring-leaves-salem-out-of-the-loop/
http://kanda.boatingcommunity.org.uk/how-much-has-sally-ash-cost-boaters/
http://kanda.boatingcommunity.org.uk/christmas-competition/
Tags: continuous cruising, CRT Council, IWA, liveaboards, Nigel Johnson, Richard Parry, Sally Ash, Simon Salem