Since taking on the role of Managing Director in January 2025, James Boswell has hit the ground running – bringing energy and focus, and reinvigorating the customer-first mindset we have at TF Solutions.
We spoke to James to find out more about his background, what drives him, and his vision for the company and the wider RACHP industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
My professional journey actually started out in the field, working on the tools as a general builder. Over the last 15 years or so, I’ve gained extensive experience in specialist merchanting businesses and more recently, further honed my knowledge in the HVAC industry with Travis Perkins Group.
What do you attribute your success to?
I’m very hard-working – I turn up every day and work really hard. I’m also open-minded and I’m always learning. I never believe I am the finished article or the one with all the answers; I am constantly learning and growing my knowledge to impart that to the teams I lead to allow them to further develop. I strongly believe building a highly capable team around you will help you to be successful.
What excites you most about leading TF Solutions?
The business sits in an exciting and evolving market, which gives us the potential for rapid growth. We have multiple ways to access a greater share of the marketplace, and the challenge is how we prioritise and focus our approach to ensure we capitalise on the opportunities in front of us.
What is your top priority for the company in the next year?
It’s re-engaging with our customers. I want our customers to understand what we can do for them and how we can support them. Not only in our core business, which has made TF Solutions what we are today, but also in how we can support them with technical expertise. We want to help them win more business; ultimately, we can grow together.
How do you plan to address the biggest challenges the RACHP industry is facing?
Collaboration – we can’t look at things in a binary way. Instead of looking at us separately as distributor, customer, and supplier, we can work together as a reinforced triangle to address the challenges.
There’s the inevitable skills gap, where we need to encourage a younger generation of new engineers and skillsets into the industry, and the ongoing challenge of sustainability and net zero. We’ve all got shared goals in hitting those targets moving forward, so working together is in the industry’s best interests.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
It’s a tough question, but I’ll never forget about doing what you say – I think I’ve always stuck behind that. I’ll always do what I say I’m going to do. And I think anyone that comes across me or who I’ve engaged with, who I work for, who work for me, or customers I’ve engaged with, knows I’ll always do exactly what I say.
What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring leaders in this industry?
To listen. You have to listen – we’re in a niche industry, there’s a technical learning curve there. I think listening and gathering as much information as you possibly can is a key part of the role, and then it’s avoiding trying to do too much at once.
You listen and take it all on board and then, if you’re going to deliver something, deliver one or two things really well, rather than trying to deliver 10 or 15 things.
Is there a TF Solutions value that you particularly associate with?
Having the customer at the heart of everything you do. Customer focus has been central to TF Solutions from day one all the way through to the present day.
The customer is always at the heart of the decision-making process – and that’s something we’ll make sure we reinvigorate this year and onwards.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
I’m a mountain person, not a beach person – I love my winter sports. So anywhere in the French Alps, I tend to be happy, but that sounds quite posh! Anywhere in the mountains, whether it be in summer, walking or running, or in the winter doing sports.
What was the last book you read or the TV show you watched?
If I’m honest, I’m not sure about the last book I read – I’ve just watched Ted Lasso, but I’m about 10 years behind everyone else.
I’m more of a music guy, I like to listen to a huge breadth of music. I tend to be in the car for a long time, and I’ll listen to all kinds of music; it could be anything from 80s hip-hop all the way through to modern-day dance music and even classical.
So, who have you been listening to recently?
I’ve started listening to a band called alt-J, which I’d heard of previously but have started listening to more and more.
At TF Solutions, leadership starts with listening. Share your thoughts on this Q&A on our social channels, and stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes conversations as we continue to grow together.