Harry Tafota-Nash
From the Hungarian rugby squad to the gym floor and the Olympic Games, CMS Danskin’s head of leisure has had a colourful journey, writes David Strydom
NOT long before I interviewed CMS Danskin Acoustics’ new head of leisure, Harry Tafota-Nash, he attended a meeting with clients, one of the company’s key suppliers. As he took his seat, one thing was immediately clear: he looked very different from the rest of the room.
‘Everyone else was in dark navy and shades of grey and black,’ he recalls. ‘Very corporate.’
Harry, however, sees that difference as part of the value he brings. ‘I knew I was new to the corporate world and I carry a lot of energy,’ he says. ‘For me, that’s a positive thing. It’s about bringing fresh ideas, new thinking and a bit of energy into the business.’
Look at Harry’s background and it’s no surprise he doesn’t take too readily to a suit. He earned seven caps in Hungary’s international rugby team (he was born in Bristol to a Hungarian mother) before managing Cardiff-based Absolute Performance, a gym design and installation provider where he drove major UK and international projects.
This was where he cut his teeth with respect to flooring equipment. ‘We worked across the UK and internationally and were particularly strong in the professional sport and education sectors. For example, we delivered training facilities for Newcastle United and worked with Team GB for the Olympics across three cycles. We were the equipment provider for Team GB training camps, setting up the facilities where athletes trained while they were at the Games.’
Harry personally attended the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics to help set those up, and beyond that worked with a range of clients, including professional footballers and rugby players, as well as home gyms, schools and major universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. ‘It was a really varied and interesting range of projects to be involved in.’
Part of Harry’s role at CMS Danskin Acoustics will be developing another route to market, working directly with gym equipment companies. ‘At Absolute Performance, we actually bought flooring directly from CMS, then installed it ourselves for clients,’ he says. ‘Sometimes projects also move through a typical construction chain, a building company appoints a contractor, who subcontracts the work further down the line. So the route to the end-user can vary depending on the project.’
And that experience, naturally, is what qualified him to be head of leisure at CMS Danskin Acoustics. The company, which is part of The Performance Technology Group, manufactures and sources acoustic insulation products advising on acoustic and vibration control materials and noise reduction strategies, including floors, ceilings and walls, to combat airborne, impact and reverberation noise. Notable leisure flooring projects include a major gym refurbishment at The University of Edinburgh and the new Riverside Club at Berkeley Group’s Heron Wharf, London.
Harry’s personal connection to CMS was via business director Mark Metcalfe. They’d done business in Harry’s previous role. ‘I’ve always had an excellent working relationship with Mark,’ he says. ‘Each understands how the other works.’
For his part, Mark enthusiastically welcomed Harry aboard. ‘Harry brings serious pace, energy and personality to lead our growth across the leisure market. His background in installation and his understanding of how spaces are used complement our technical capabilities to take the service we provide and our product range to the next level.’
Harry says he’s excited by the challenge and looking forward to driving CMS Danskin Acoustics’ growth in the leisure sector. ‘With its technical know-how and acoustic product offering, including the REGUPOL range, CMS Danskin Acoustics has a great basis from which we can achieve even more as we guide our customers through the spec process and ensure the result is a space that’ll perform for them and look great.’
Unsurprisingly, Harry sees customer relationship building as key to his approach. Here’s a man, after all, with a larger-than-life persona. When I ask him what the favourite part of his job is, his answer is instantaneous: ‘Getting out and speaking to people, because I’m a firm believer people buy from people. It’s about building relationships with them, helping them out, being a problem- solver, going above and beyond. It’s not just about supplying them with a product. I do site visits and testing, for instance, which is so much better than saying, ‘Here’s your product, here’s the price, and that’s it’.’
On the question of problem-solving, Harry notes the leisure side of the business is quite different from the rest. ‘One thing I see regularly in the gym industry is people focus heavily on the equipment, the shiny machines, the bells and whistles, while flooring is often left until the end. But the flooring sits underneath everything and covers a large area, so it can come as a surprise when clients realise the cost involved. Often they haven’t considered factors such as acoustics and vibration either, which can have major implications for a building. Part of our role is helping clients understand those issues and providing the right solution.’
Because he comes from a SME background where he was expected to understand every part of the job, he’s always believed it’s important to stay close to what’s happening onsite. ‘Earlier in my career I used to visit sites regularly, and I still think that’s important. It shows customers that we’re there to support them rather than just selling a product and disappearing.’
Work aside, it’s been 12 years since Harry had his 15 minutes of fame as a cheeky chappie on five episodes of Come Dine With Me. His Hungarian dishes were a hit and his charm smoothed over a couple of verbal missteps. As he said at the time: ‘I’ve been told off a few times for opening my trap when I probably shouldn’t have, but if it’s on my mind, nine times out of 10, I’ve probably got to say it.’
The flooring industry may not trade in celebrities, but Harry will be hoping his competitive instincts give CMS Danskin Acoustics the edge.
