Business advisors
Jeremy Andrews
Jeremy is one of our longest serving and most experienced advisors with a background as a sales development manager with ICL (UK) Ltd. He currently runs his own business specialising in sales training and outplacement.
Raymond Cook
Raymond joined us fresh from a successful career spanning over twenty five years owning and operating small and medium sized companies. His wide management experience in both the commercial and retail sectors is complemented by his training in coaching and advising independent business. He is enthusiastic to assist those choosing to create their own unique enterprise.
Simon Forrester
Simon has over 25 years' experience in advertising and marketing agencies and now runs his own marketing consultancy offering wise words and creative ideas to his clients. His business provides marketing strategy development, market research, copywriting, literature design and production, PR, newsletters, direct marketing and internet marketing. Simon offers marketing advice in its widest form to OBE clients looking to start up a new business.
Bernard Goodchild
A former general manager in the banking and finance industry, Bernard has a wealth of experience advising small businesses. He is now an independent management consultant and advisor to a wide spectrum of SMEs assisting with the development of business strategies, plans, raising finance and performance management.
Richard Hartree
Richard is our longest serving advisor having been with us since 1993 and having had a successful career in industrial management. He has also been an award winning Prince's Trust mentor for a number of years and especially enjoys working with pre-start and new businesses, providing business start up help.
Jan Hendriks
Co-owner of Protem Business Support, Jan provides small business mentoring and coaching services from lead generation to market analysis and export assistance. Jan has had an international career in refractories and technical ceramics followed by his own industrial marketing business in Holland and South Africa. His language skills are useful for many starters as are his recent retail experiences as a shop owner and sub-postmaster.
Jonathan Hewitt
Jonathan had a successful home and international career in engineering, construction and property management before opting out to win awards as proprietor of the Red Lion public house in Chalgrove. Although retired, he now carries out consultancy work for various organizations as well as his advising role for Oxfordshire Business Enterprises.
David Hill
David has a wealth of experience in training and course presentation. David's background is in commercial and general management with multi-site retailing operations mainly in the drinks sector. He has held senior appointments in personnel and marketing.
Ivor Hopkyns
Ivor was raised and educated in Western Canada and worked for over 30 years for a major Canadian bank in a variety of management and advisory roles. He has been an OBE advisor for over 10 years having helped numerous clients start their new businesses.
Alexandra Mann
Alex has a background in training and before setting up her own coaching practice as a personal development coach, she was a technical trainer for a large international software development company. Alex has a passion for helping both individuals and new businesses reach their true potential.
John May
John has over 30 years' experience advising and helping a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from sole traders to large corporate organizations. He has been a business advisor for the last 12 years, and has also presented business related workshops for 10 of those years, since leaving Lloyds TSB. Although a generalist, he has particular knowledge of management issues, sales, finance and management accounts.
G J McHale FCCA, LL.B(Hons)
Gary joined forces with a strategic tax partner, setting up their own specialised accountancy, taxation and professional services practice - Prospect Accounting Limited. Having an enviable client base and a history of working with businesses through periods of critical change, Gary also acts as a non-executive director with a small number of businesses acting in a financial directorship capacity. Gary has a 'can-do' attitude, and keeps close relationships with his clients, working with them at a strategic level across all areas of their business, he regularly helps where additional funding is required and has recently dealt with a number of complex re-structures. He's well known by his clients and many other professionals for having a very commercial outlook, and feedback from clients is that they know they will receive robust financial and practical advice no matter what issue they throw his way.
Graham Oddey
Graham Oddey runs his own change management, leadership development and performance improvement consulting business. He started his career in manufacturing and distribution with Procter and Gamble, and has over 20 years' consulting experience, during which he has helped almost 70 organisations to deliver better business results.
Paul Ovington
Paul is an accomplished and versatile consultant. He possesses a broad range of skills successfully applied in a range of cultures. A key speciality is project management and business planning. He has helped organisations of all sizes to improve their ability to meet market objectives.
Sam Sadler
Sam is the managing director of Sadler Talbot Ltd, an Oxfordshire firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. She has worked with small to medium sized businesses in a vast array of sectors for nearly 20 years. The knowledge gained from working with her clients and running her own practice means that Sam is all too familiar with the issues facing businesses, not just the burden of accounting and taxation.
Cliff Spolander
Cliff is a successful business owner, property investor, business advisor and franchise consultant who has started, sold and systemised several companies. His passion is to support business owners, individuals and organisations in transforming their operations to create profitable enterprises, creating true assets.
Typically Cliff supports business owners with:
- business growth - taking their business to the next level
- business start-ups - negotiating a share of the business and providing expertise and advice to support start-up companies
- franchising - advising and guiding them on how to create a successful and profitable franchise operation
- exit strategies - preparing their business for sale and realising their assets
John Vernon
John is a highly experienced general manager with many years in the engineering sector as a line manager, corporate strategist and trouble-shooter. He has spent the last 12 years involved with those planning to start up a new business and early stage companies with particular emphasis on budgeting, business planning, strategy and management controls.
Malcolm Warden
An engineering graduate and chartered management accountant, Malcolm has many years' experience working for international companies at directorate level in the UK, USA and Europe. He is enthusiastic to improve business processes especially in the IT field, challenge assumptions and reduce costs. He currently provides part time finance director services to smaller companies.
Peter Windatt
Peter is an accountant and licensed insolvency practitioner having the benefit of 24 years' business recovery and insolvency experience. A director of his own practice employing around 30 people, Peter is fully aware of the practical issues and pitfalls facing small businesses.
Fin Whyte
During a long business career in senior management posts, Fin has gained in-depth experience of new ventures and the work needed to research, establish finance, plan, launch and monitor progress in the early months. Fin has a particular role in advising and helping those clients who have experienced mental difficulties.
