DHF announces Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens as new Commercial Director

Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) has announced that current Head of Commercial Operations, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens, has been promoted to the position of Commercial Director.

The announcement was made by CEO, Bob Perry, on 30th March in a statement that praised Patricia’s ‘significant development and improvement of our commercial offering involving membership, marketing and training’.

Patricia joined DHF in 2015, and over a seven-and-a-half-year period, has transformed the Tamworth-based trade association into a modern, progressive, forward-looking organisation that is committed to maintaining and raising quality standards, and very much remains the industry’s ‘go to expert’ on training and technical advice in the industries it serves.

In particular, Patricia has been the driver behind DHF’s first refresher course website in 2016, as well as its extensive rebranding in 2017, which incorporated the vision of the federation with new branding, a new website, and newly branded publications that brought continuity to DHF and a thorough overview of the six member areas that it represents.

In 2018, Patricia implemented the online training booking and payment facility which took DHF to ‘another level’ and enabled learners to book and pay for courses online; this was a first for DHF and the start of things to come. In 2019, she deployed the CSCS card offering (launched in November), a comprehensive platform held on the DHF website that enables users to complete, apply and pay for a CSCS card online with ease. The same year saw Patricia positioning DHF to become an ABBE Assessment Centre, offering the accreditation of courses, the only formal theory-based qualification for the industries that complement the NVQ.

“Patricia has remained a key member of DHF’s senior management team and under her leadership, the commercial offering from the organisation has gone from strength-to-strength,” says Bob. “Since joining DHF, she has been instrumental in driving countless initiatives for growth, and in particular, we applaud her quick thinking during the Covid-19 pandemic when she implemented the Distance Learning Programme (DLP) in just two weeks of lockdown. DLP has now grown into a comprehensive training offering that we are supremely proud of. Patricia is a great ambassador for women in the industry, and an inspiring role model for our younger employees. She has very effectively developed the commercial team who form a key part of our organisation.”

Further to the DLP, Patricia has succeeded in creating DHF’s Training Academy website with on-site training, launched in November 2021, and enabling learners to take control of their own learning and book training and refresher courses online.

“I am thrilled to take on this new position and look forward to helping DHF grow and develop even further in the coming years. The organisation has a very exciting future and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”