NEW ANGLIA LEP - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Business Growth Adviser
• Business Growth Adviser / Norfolk Team / Read More

Anthony's career has covered a variety of occupations, including practical farming, government administration, education, self-employed rural business consultancy, rural project work, managing an environmental assurance scheme and training businesses in the UK, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa. He is passionate about business sustainable development and helping businesses succeed. He has worked with UK and international rural businesses, both large and small, giving them bespoke advice and helping them to progress with their business aims and objectives. With a mature attitude and approach to life, including a sense of humour, coupled with experience from a range of different backgrounds, Anthony is looking forward to helping the businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk gain access to the skills they need to thrive and grow.

Job Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Chief Executive Officer / Suffolk Team / Read More

Bev has a wealth of first-hand experience of growing several successful businesses and overcoming the challenges of the key tipping points of the scale-up journey. She has launched six ground-breaking and multi award-winning services to address market gaps and unmet business growth needs, all of which have been replicated and scaled across the UK. Bev's expertise as a successful angel investor in technology, and prolific innovator, and working with firms through YTKO's ERDF programmes, has given her the knowledge and experience to support over 22,000 businesses to sustain and grow, helped raise £70m in growth finance, and create over 10,000 new jobs for the UK economy. She has launched six ground-breaking and multi award-winning services to address market gaps and unmet business growth needs, all of which have been replicated and scaled across the UK. She also created a highly successful P2P mentoring community in Norfolk, raising a commitment of over 10,000 mentoring hours in less than three weeks from launch. Since then, Bev has created or delivered many mentoring programmes, including from the British Business Bank and J.P. Morgan, and was consulted by BEIS to improve the Mentorsme portal.

Job Titles:

• Senior Business Growth Adviser / Norfolk Team Leader
• Senior Business Growth Adviser / Norfolk Team Leader / Norfolk Team / Read More

Chris has a sales and marketing background and has worked for a number of large international businesses. In 2001, he set up a spin out company with two academies from University College London, offering a range of contract research services to the biotech and pharma sector. This company quickly grew, was relocated to Cambridge and eventually merged with another business. Chris worked as an independent consultant for several years offering business and marketing advice to local businesses before joining the Growth Hub in 2014.

Job Titles:

• Marketing Director
• Marketing Director / Suffolk Team / Read More

Liz brings over 20-years of experience of marketing, ranging from creating brand and marketing strategies with measurable returns, to content creation, PR and marketing research. She has five global awards from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a PhD and is a qualified Project Manager (APMP). Liz has a wealth of experience in marketing, from creating effective strategies to deliver sales and bottom-line impact, brand building, market research, PR, compelling content generation, development of value propositions, B2B demand generation, and practical application of all tactics, both online and offline. She is an excellent producer of compelling content for business audiences, extracting benefits and creating strong value propositions with a PhD and five global awards from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, plus she is also a qualified Project Manager (APMP). Working for ITV's engineering division, she established an innovative research company, winning contracts with all UK broadcasters to support the change from analogue to digital, with turnover of £250k in the first 12 months. In her marketing consultancy business, she worked with SMEs and large corporate clients within a range of sectors, providing support, from strategic planning to content provision, PR campaigns and digital marketing. Liz also developed the future-oriented digital product portfolio for Ordnance Survey, managing their range of £140m p.a. digital and geographical products. She created an innovation unit to perform market analysis and agile product prototyping, forging partnerships with R&D units in UK and European Universities, and successfully launched new market-leading products to fulfil aggressive growth objectives. She created the award-winning P2P community, GeoVation, acting as a catalyst for ideas and product generation for the next generation digital mapping products and services.

Job Titles:

• Engagement Adviser and Administration Report

Hayley has a strong background in administration and business support services having held an administrative supervisor role at a specialist automotive relocation company dealing with the administration of taking cars to large automotive events and auctions all over Europe. Her positive and personable attitude supports her attention to detail and organisation as well as building relationships with key customers and contacts. Her work in the events industry has provided her with experience in multi-tasking and hitting multiple deadlines. Hayley joined the Growth Hub in October 2020 to help run the Peer Networks Programme and had experience processing the ERDF outputs. She has now started her new role as part of the Engagement Advisers team and is looking forward to a new challenge.

Job Titles:

• Business Growth Adviser
• Business Growth Adviser / Norfolk Team / Read More

While James does not come from East Anglia, his love of the area goes back to the time he studied Hotel and Catering Management at the Norwich City College, of which he has some very fond memories. After college James worked for several years in various management roles within hospitality, across Australia, the UK and the Caribbean. James' corporate career has taken him into several different sectors working in operations and new store development, for an international coffee chain, facilities management for a national leisure company, senior project management roles within retail store development. James spent some years in the Netherlands working for an international supply chain company specialising in supporting retail store development projects, covering key account management for major international organisations across the EMEA region, whilst also being responsible for regulatory compliance and process improvement. On returning to the UK James developed several start-up businesses within the energy efficiency sector most recently specialising in Lighting Services.

Job Titles:

• Engagement Adviser
• Engagement Adviser / Norfolk Team / Read More

In 2015 Jamie graduated from university with a degree in Graphic Design and for two years worked as a self-employed Graphic Designer and part-time for a design agency based in Ipswich. Jamie joined the New Anglia Growth Hub in 2018 to assist with the processing of ERDF outputs and work closely with the Adviser team to ensure all paperwork was collated. In 2022, Jamie moved his extensive experience into the Engagement Team and is now one of the Growth Hub's frontline Advisers. Jamie has recently been awarded his Level 5 SFEDI qualification in Business Support.

Job Titles:

• High Growth Engagement & Events Officer

Jo spent many years working for her family's outside catering business ‘Diana Barnard catering'. During her mid-twenties, she took a break in hospitality and joined the British Government department Oversea Development Administration as a logistics consultant; who seconded her to UNHCR in former Yugoslavia during the Balkan war and then UNICEF in Rwanda during the Genocide. Upon Jo's return to the UK, she had a short spell in logistics before returning to the family business in 2001. The business was rebranded to Barnard Catering Ltd and Jo continued to work for the company during busy spells whilst also working for local marketing guru's Helen Oldfield and Gina Long. From here, Jo moved to Woodhall Manor as events manager and then joined the management team at The Orwell Hotel in Felixstowe. Having spent two years as the Growth Hub's Events Coordinator, Jo became Business Growth Support Adviser before taking on the new role of Engagement Specialist. Jo is also the Chair of Felixstowe Rowing Club and Vice Commodore of Felixstowe Ferry Sailing Club. She is also a volunteer for the Parish Pantry at St Johns Church in Felixstowe.

Job Titles:

• High Growth Adviser

Job Titles:

• Business Adviser
• Senior Business Growth Advisor
• Senior Business Growth Advisor / Suffolk Team / Read More

Julian is an experienced business adviser who has delivered a wide range of business support programmes across the Midlands, East Anglia and the South East. These programmes have focused on understanding the needs of Small to Medium Size businesses and helping them to access solutions that Support Growth. He has worked extensively within the skills and leadership and management arena diagnosing needs and providing access to grant funding and expert provision. Julian has experience of a range of recognised national standards including Investors In People and having worked within Higher Education has a sound understanding of the importance of continuous development and lifelong learning. He has worked at a senior level within Recruitment and the Hospitality sector and enjoys getting to the heart of where an organisation's challenges sit and working to connect them to a solution.

Job Titles:

• Engagement Adviser
• Engagement Adviser and Administration Report

Mags joined the TSB Bank straight from school and then spent 20 plus years in the insurance and financial services sector. Most of that time she worked for Cunningham Lindsey, the leading loss adjusting, claims management and risk solutions company ending up managing the marketing team. Mags gained her Lloyds insurance qualifications and Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Qualifications whilst working in the financial services sector. In 2011, Mags became self-employed and worked on a number of projects including managing courses for overseas teachers of English to attend educational courses in the UK. Mags joined the Growth Hub at its inception in 2014 and has moved from an administration and financial support role to managing the Engagement Team. Mags brings a vast experience of best practice, standards and compliance, which port across to other roles to drive up quality and impact and she has achieved her SFEDI Level 7 Award in Understanding Business and Enterprise Support (equivalent to a Masters degree) whilst working with the Growth Hub.

Job Titles:

• Business Advisor
• Senior Business Growth Advisor
• Senior Business Growth Advisor / Suffolk Team / Read More

Mark is an experienced business advisor and has worked in senior advisory positions on a variety of different business support and grant initiatives in the Cambridgeshire and the surrounding areas. He has over 15 years of experience as a senior manager and consultant in the training sector, working with national companies and organisations like the London Underground, NHS, & Autoglass. He is a qualified trainer covering subjects like, business, sales, marketing, employability, lead generation. Prior to that he has 17 years in the retail sector working in multi-site management for companies like Jessops, Burtons and Carphone Warehouse. Mark started his first business in 2007 which he sold in 2017 and also runs his own training business now. Mark is passionate about providing excellent support to SMEs and prides himself on excellent customer service.

Job Titles:

• Senior Business Growth Advisor
• Senior Business Growth Advisor / Suffolk Team / Read More

With over two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Nick has been at the helm of his own business, catering to clients ranging from small-scale enterprises to expansive PLCs. His extensive expertise spans the realms of digital marketing, audience engagement, content creation, and media outreach, making him an invaluable resource for our clients seeking to navigate the digital landscape. Nick's home base is in the vibrant community of Woodbridge, where he is not only a business owner but also an active and influential presence within local and regional business networks. His dedication to networking and community engagement has further enriched his understanding of the ever-evolving business landscape. Nick's journey is marked by a passion for helping businesses thrive in the digital age. His wealth of experience, combined with a commitment to fostering lasting connections, positions him as a trusted advisor and partner. As a cornerstone of our team, Nick's insights and guidance empower our clients to seize opportunities and overcome challenges in today's dynamic business world.

Job Titles:

• Programme Director
• Programme Director / Suffolk Team / Read More

An accomplished Programme Director, Business Consultant and Advisor, Pauline has a wealth of experience in the business support arena, having spent the first 20 years of her working life in banking and then pivoting into business support, working across many Government Agencies and Consultancy Organisations. Pauline has directed and worked on many government initiatives, with her last post managing the largest Community Renewal Fund in England and successfully supporting hundreds of small businesses across the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. Passionate about Small Business and Service, Pauline has made it her life's work to secure positions where she can really influence the support that businesses receive and bring in a wealth of expertise with the teams that support her.

Job Titles:

• High Growth Adviser
• High Growth Engagement & Events Officer

Robert has a long career history of business development, sales and marketing, business advice and staff training and development. Since 2011 he has worked as a business improvement specialist/mentor and joined the Growth Hub at its inception in 2014. Robert is also the Growth Hub's Small Firms Development Initiative (SFEDI) Programme Leader. All of our staff are qualified (or working toward) SFEDI accreditation. Robert manages this training process and supports and assess all students.