Scaleup Directors O-U

For the last fifteen years, he has worked with many SMEs, helping them with their growth via strategic and business planning, investment readiness and fundraising, with extensive contacts into the Business Angel, Venture Capital, and Crowdfunding markets. 

Paul has worked for Beer & Partners (Business Angel Network) and Connect Midlands, part of Warwick University, which ran investment readiness programmes. He has invested in Shadow Foundr, a crowdfunding business and was, for a period, on their Advisory Board. 

More recently Paul has worked as a consultant and a Non-Executive Director and has to date personally invested in twelve high growth companies. Paul has an interest in SME Board performance and improvement and holds a distinction in the IOD Diploma in Company Direction. 

Paul is an experienced Business Mentor and a Member of the Association of Business Mentors. He is currently studying for an ILM Level 7 (Masters level) qualification in mentoring. He has a passion for helping companies grow and helping entrepreneurs/Directors develop themselves. 

Paul originates from Yorkshire, but lives in exile in Leicestershire, is married, has a border collie and flat-coated retriever, is a keen golfer and flat green bowler.

His experience includes sales, management and leadership roles in major corporates including BT Plc, as well as several innovative technology SME’s. He has experience of founding/investing in and managing/advising several start-ups and so understands the stages the businesses go through and decisions they need to make as they grow. He has also managed global teams and projects and worked in the USA, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, and Qatar.

Peter has been a Scaleup Director for the last year and previously worked for two years as an Innovation and Growth Specialist for Innovate UK EDGE where he advised innovative businesses developing IT & Telematics, Fintech, Environmental services, Healthcare, Transport, Aerospace and Creative solutions.

Specialties: Business strategy and business planning, grant applications, IP, internationalisation, contract management, P&L management and accurate forecasting, equity investment and engaging investors/funds, account and service management, new business development and partner management. Sales, marketing, CRM, and digital strategies. Team performance improvement, coaching and development.

Peter has two offspring (a long time since they were called children) and lives in the West Country although he is regularly in London. He also works with and advises/supports fundraising activities for a major international charity.
 

Over 25 year’s experience working with a range of clients large and small in the commercial and University sectors to support, develop and scale their innovations. 

Rick has experience of product and process development, quality management, and business development from his time working for a DNA extraction product and genomics service PLC.

Rick is a specialist in IP and technology management having worked in roles where he has been responsible for innovation triage, stage gate development, IP management and commercialisation, and developing and managing relationships between industry and academia. During his career he has sponsored early stage high value projects and developed IP strategies for a wide range of disruptive innovations, including Nobel Prize winning

Graphene and opportunities from Astronomy to Zoology.

As an independent consultant Rick has completed assignments on wide ranging topics helping 100+ SMEs to innovate and scale through market research, technical research, data visualisation and analysis, marketing innovation, and new product and service development.

These experiences have given Rick a broad exposure to a wide variety of technologies and their management. He is able to advise you on systems to help you select the right ideas, to generate options for IP strategy, and scaling up with the right partners. This equally applies to developing intrapreneurs within your company, encouraging innovation and the scale-up opportunities they bring, thereby aiding staff retention and development.

Rick is a well-rounded professional and able to bring additional support to your company from many different technologies and commercial perspectives.

In his spare time, Rick enjoys the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword, watching films, and cooking, especially when it involves using a new kitchen gadget or two.
 

At the age of 26, he took a bold leap into entrepreneurship, founding his first manufacturing venture. Under his guidance, it became the go-to supplier for one of the United Kingdom's prominent independent kitchen manufacturers. Simultaneously, he established a retail boutique specialising in custom Oak furniture and staircases, gaining recognition for his craftsmanship and catering to a select celebrity clientele.

Scott's innate ability to spot opportunities led him to approach a VC-backed SME with a compelling proposition. In just five years, he orchestrated the development of an entirely new revenue stream, injecting an impressive £10 million into their turnover.

Opting to bootstrap his next venture, he meticulously nurtured this innovative enterprise for seven years, guiding it to a £5 million turnover without external investment. 

Throughout his career, Scott has adeptly navigated the worlds of finance, infrastructure development, and international markets. He has cultivated enduring relationships in the United States and Australia, further enriching his portfolio of accomplishments.

Today, Scott willingly shares his wealth of knowledge on business growth and scalability, having traversed the exhilarating highs and challenging lows of running his own companies and fostering the growth of others.

Beyond the boardroom, Scott finds solace in the saddle as a dedicated road cyclist, relishing early morning rides across the picturesque Cheshire plain. He also channels his passion for sports into giving back to the community as a dedicated volunteer football coach for a youth team. Additionally, he plays an active role in spearheading private and public funding initiatives for a new community sports pavilion and grass pitch facility.
 

A business owner and entrepreneur, Stephen is a highly motivated and experienced Senior Executive, combining both creative and analytical skills to drive performance and leadership development for both large- and small-scale teams.

ngineer & designer by trade, having extensive design & development experience in everything from mechatronic systems through to full vehicle interiors & Integration. Extensive expertise in design and development, processes and project management coupled with proven success in exceeding performance targets delivering projects for major engineering and automotive programs for clients.

Stephen has demonstrated a track record of programme delivery for automotive OEMs such as Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and McLaren along with numerous TIER 1 manufacturers. With a strong Entrepreneurial approach to business development, Stephen also offers a wealth of knowledge in areas such as:

• Leadership & team building,
• Cross-functional departmental integration 
• Executive leadership experience
• P&L management
• Strategic business planning and implementation
• Sales management & execution
• Project management and project/programme delivery

Stephen has a strong commitment to development of the next generation of project engineers, design engineers and designers alike. This has been demonstrated by receiving the coveted HRH King Charles’ Industrial cadets ‘SME Employer of the year’ for two consecutive years.
 

Steve gained his degree at Sheffield University before moving into the world of finance, qualifying as a certified accountant whilst working as an auditor for Ernst & Young. From there he moved into industry, spending time in the manufacturing, marketing, and service industries.

Much of Steve’s experience was gained in his most recent role as European Finance Director for a global medical device company, overseeing EMEA revenue growth from $15m to $158m over a 15-year timeframe. This growth involved international organisational planning and development, navigating various approaches to accessing international markets and close involvement with the acquisition of a distributor in Italy and a competitor in Germany.

His time in the med tech world also included exposure to the regulatory aspects of the medical device market, close involvement with a major ERP implementation (SAP) and ownership of the movement of goods function across the EMEA region.

Outside of business, Steve is a qualified yoga teacher who greatly enjoys bringing the benefits of yoga to his students. He also loves to travel, and inexplicably continues to play golf despite the sport’s endless frustrations.
 

Steve has led multi-million-pound fundraising campaigns for and on behalf of a range of diverse, primarily technology businesses - from large fibre management through to computer gaming but also life sciences, education services and manufacturing.

He championed the Digital Sector for the Liverpool City Region helping drive equity investment into high growth companies and acted on behalf of both the Liverpool Seed Fund and Merseyside Special Investment

Fund working closely with the Chief Executive and specialising in the digital and software firms within their portfolio.

Recently he has acted as Interim CEO and Chair for several technology firms including a significant spell with an international software firm.

Steve conceived, developed, and delivered the international pitching event format “Software City” and ran it in Silicon Valley, Boston, London, Helsinki, and Liverpool bringing a wide range of technology businesses to the UK and European investor community.

As well as a broad knowledge set and vast network, Steve has considerable experience in managing relationships at board level. Comfortable at Board and C-suite level Steve offers the Scaleup Board a wide range of experience in growth finance, sales and business development and international expansion.

His experience as a Director of two scale up businesses himself, both of whom grew exponentially and achieved successful exits, not only gives him credibility but also real empathy with leaders who have committed to their scaleup journey. 

Steve’s Scaleup Model and the practical techniques that support this called “Growthology” have been now been applied to hundreds of scaleup firms through the UK’s most successful High Growth Support Programmes including Growth Accelerator (England), Accelerated Growth Programme (Wales), Boost (Lancashire) and Strategic Business Growth Programme (Yorkshire).  

Over the past decade he has advised/trained High Growth Managers across RBS, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC through a range of workshops, videos and Playbooks with essential step by step guides to help them support their scaleup clients.

Steve works with firms at every stage of development from highly ambitious early-stage businesses through to global businesses looking for their next killer growth move. His Lean Startup programmes including Lean Traction (UK Science & Technology Facilities Council), High Potential Startups (Welsh Government) and Lean Startup (Bioscience Catalyst Stevenage) have successfully helped deliver early funding and rapid customer growth. 

The majority of Steve’s work is spent with leaders of innovation-led small to medium sized businesses who are committed to rapid growth but are struggling to develop the right strategy, or more often, challenged by the tactical changes demanded to convert their scaleup intent into an operational reality. Global Organisations that have also commissioned Steve to help with their High Growth Execution Strategies have included Capita, Google, Arriva (UK) and ACT (Egypt).
 

She has worked extensively in Africa, supporting government leaders and senior counterparts on policy, strategy and delivery as well as within Chambers of Commerce verticals (Women Chambers, Young Entrepreneurs, Chambers of Tourism and Technology) to enhance regional trade and foster socio-economic growth. Toyin has collaborated with various regional economic communities, international organisations, intergovernmental organisations, including the Commonwealth and UN agencies, to promote industrial investment and trade opportunities between Europe, Africa, Americas and Asia-Pacific. 

As former Business Development Director, she worked with World Food Programme's East African largest manufacturer and supplier of fortified cereals combating malnutrition in the region. Toyin worked with a former world’s 2nd largest FMCG Food and Beverage manufacturer before its acquisition by AbInBev - SAB Miller and their global advertising and branding giant Ogilvy as B2C premium marketing lead, driving brand identity and strategy development, value proposition, digital and OOH marketing, route to market, product market fit, NPD/category brands launch and activations alongside colleagues in West Africa. She has also been involved in initiatives showcasing women in business and has a passion for sustainable food production as well as promoting social mobility and diversity. She invests and co-found in disruptive technologies. 

Toyin holds master’s in international development and policy from London School of Economics, International Business from Birkbeck, University of London and Business and Strategy degree from Bournemouth University. Her decades of experience have honed advisory, consulting and execution capabilities in MSMEs, organisational change, stakeholders' engagement, NPD - launch and standards, sales and marketing, brand and strategy, access to markets and finance, exports, investment, trade facilitation/promotion, value and supply chains, coalitions building and advocacy. She supports diverse startups and scaling businesses to access markets in Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and is NED to a clothing manufacturer and a sports digital marketing outfit. 

In her free time, she enjoys walking, travel, documentaries, music, and engaging in charitable endeavours.
 

Her functional expertise is in business strategy, investor and due diligence readiness, finance management, controls and processes, strategic planning, business operations excellence , risk management, transformation and change, inclusive leadership, risk, regulation compliance and governance for scaleups.  

She has spent the last 4 years running her own business conducting investor and due diligence readiness, business strategy and growth projects for various tech startups. Tracey has mentored in a number of accelerators such as TechStars, Outlier ventures, Mint Ventures and Nat West. 

As a qualified chartered accountant and former KPMG director with a 22-year career, Tracey has specialised in strategy transformation, growth, operations, audit, assurance, transactions readiness and regulatory compliance. She has worked internationally for 6 of those years, led teams across in multiple sectors and covered specialisms such as Brexit readiness used for COVID lockdown, Climate Change and Sustainability. 

In parallel she spent most of her career helping run her parent’s entrepreneurial business pro bono going through the ups and downs. 

An IoD award-winning non-executive director 2023, Tracey also serves on Boards and Audit and Risk committees (ARC), Chair of EDI and is an experienced NED in regulated businesses. 

Her passions include education, mentoring her teenage daughters, emerging technologies (blockchain), personal development, fitness, theatre and singing.