About Us
MANAGEMENT & NON-EXECUTIVE SERVICES
for
CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS
OSG is a frontier and emerging economy management and advisory specialist, providing executive management teams and individuals for commercial ventures and not-for-profit projects in undeveloped, developing and post-conflict environments.
Our Offer
OSG offers ‘concept to exit/handover’ services, ranging from initial research and operational/financial planning, through recruitment and business/project launch, to ongoing management, development and exit. Because these services (whether initial research, creating an established business for handover, or anything in between) are available on a named, white-labelled or proxy basis, clients are provided with the option for discreet reconnaissance and gaining comfort from established traction before announcing market presence. As well as hands-on management, OSG also provides operational audit, advisory and other non-executive services to new and existing commercial and not-for-profit entities.
Our People
OSG’s practitioners are experienced pioneers. They create solid operating foundations in unfamiliar territories, opaque legal frameworks and hostile environments. They convert greenfield start-ups into financeable propositions and turn the visions of entrepreneurs, sponsors, donors and other stakeholders into reality. They are accustomed to having to ensure the workability of long and fragile communications and logistics chains. They are practised at overcoming the traditional barriers of language, culture, operations quality and transparency, to create sustainable and socially beneficial outcomes. OSG management teams working in frontier and emerging economies have, since 1987, created businesses from start-up to US$50m turnover per business unit and from initial recruitment to over 1,500 dependent staff.
Our Activities
Frontier Project Management
OSG bridges the gap between the needs of international clients and the lack of commercial resource, infrastructure and skills pools generally existing in frontier environments. Examples are acting as a prime contractor for rebuilding Iraq post 2003 and establishing the oilfield services sector in Kurdistan. This involved roadbuilding, construction of industrial complexes and medical facilities, water purification, infrastructure project management and acting as a joint venture partner to international investors and contractors (with clients including Shell, BP, Exxon, Chevron, Schlumberger and Sumitomo). Other examples are establishing one of the first modern prawn trawling fleets in Myanmar, creating Russia’s first Self Storage operation and introducing Document Exchange to Latin America.
First-mover Start-up
OSG also creates businesses that are the first in their sector in an emerging economy and remain its local market leader, for handover or trade sale to sector multinationals. OSG’s services are available from concept to exit. Market-leading companies are built from scratch as stand-alone, self-contained entities, with their own structures and directly recruited management teams (OSG elements stepping back well before handover). OSG established Hong Kong’s DX operation, which has remained the market leader there since 1987, serving Hong Kong’s Legal profession and insurance sector. OSG also founded Eastern Europe’s leading records management group, which grew to be the world’s seventh largest, before its purchase by global market leader Iron Mountain.
Not-for-profit Projects
OSG establishes and develops not-for-profit projects in early stage economies. These have included creating a school-twinning charity operating in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Somalia and Somaliland, and helping to develop a provider of British Government regulated Business Education courses and qualifications in forty developing nations around the world. OSG has its own corporate social responsibility programme, through which it supports a number of not-for-profit organisations, including providing secretariats for two of them.
Our Sectors
OSG operates across diverse sectors. OSG assimilates, assesses and triggers the necessary actions in conjunction with selected technical and sector specialists, and with the relevant local support. OSG has provided hands-on management, non-executive and consulting services to businesses and other organisations operating in advertising, aviation, charity, corporate & financial services, civil engineering & construction, courier, document exchange, education, fisheries, government advisory, information technology, insurance, logistics, manpower services, media, mobile technology, oil & gas support services, procurement & product wholesale, property, public relations, publishing, records management, self-storage, solar energy and sports event management.
Our Integrity
OSG always seeks to operate to the highest ethical standards and ESG criteria, and to maximise beneficial impact through local employment, knowledge transfer, efficiency, quality, health & safety and environmental sustainability. OSG’s approach delivers off-balance sheet benefits to all stakeholders and tangible benefits to the communities in which it works.
Our Experience
OSG has over thirty-five years of hands-on management experience in harsh, hazardous and complex environments. OSG has provided services to businesses and other organisations operating in over 40 developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Central & Eastern Europe/CIS, Latin America and the Middle East.
