Supported Regions
Please click your region on the map to view details of your local Manufacturing Growth Manager.
Dean Barnes
Regional Director
dean.barnes@egs.live
07790 358 678
David Ledbury
Regional Manager
North & West
david.ledbury@egs.live
07790 358 503
David Caddle
Regional Manager
South & East
david.caddle@egs.live
07704 308 229
Adrian Waters
South East Midlands
Adrian is a business professional with over 25 years of commercial experience in UK, pan-European and Global markets – at Board and Managing Director level. As a MAS Advisor, he has used this experience by working with senior leadership teams to determine strategic plans and the associated implementation of practical, measurable steps towards improvement and growth.
Degree in Economics, Politics & International Studies from Warwick University, member of Chartered Institute of Marketing and of Guild of Motoring Journalists. Adrian is also married with two teenage children, enjoys tennis and cycling when time permits.
adrian.waters@egs.live
07790 358 557
Daren Booth
South East - Kent
Daren is an experienced business support professional working across a number of sectors delivering high quality and client centric support, working with small business owners to develop growth plans and scale opportunities. Previous work has helped enable growth aspirations to business to accelerate growth, improve productivity and profitability, develop new and alternative routes to market and identify development opportunities.
ILM L7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring amongst other accreditations. Daren is a keen Formula 1 and football fan, enjoys walks and cycling by the coast in Kent.
daren.booth@egs.live
07971 062 279
James Bosworth
Leicester and Leicestershire
James is an experienced professional and has worked across SME and LE sectors in food and general Manufacturing for over 20 years. He has gained extensive experience building sales channels across European platforms, operated as a business leader coach and mentor in new market environments. James has also built on his experience supporting high growth business and was a dedicated MAS Advisor across the East Midlands.
In his spare time, James is a cycle enthusiast, enjoying taking part in cycling events and for pleasure.
james.bosworth@egs.live
07790 358 583
Michelle Connor
Coventry & Warwickshire
Michelle has over 17 years’ experience in the Business Support arena including being an Investors in People Advisor/Assessor supporting manufacturers with health checks and developing action plans with Owner Managers. Michelle is a Leadership Specialist who has worked with a large number of manufacturing businesses providing strategic guidance and delivering business and leadership solutions. Michelle understands and appreciates the issues that face business owners with her pragmatic approach enabling clients to access support to grow their businesses and achieve results and support them to achieve their growth ambitions.
Michelle has a Bachelors degree in Business Studies amongst other accreditations including the SFEDI qualification in Business Development and Skills Development. Michelle likes to travel and spends time in West Cork, she is also a keen walker and gardener.
michelle.connor@egs.live
07790 358 674
Phil Somers
Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire
With over 17 years of experience in the business industry, Phil has previously tackled multiple high value projects for companies such as BT, O2 and Motorola. Paired with 7 years’ experience as a Business Manager in the banking industry providing SME’s with financial support and business planning, Phil has used this to support high growth businesses and manufacturers in identifying barriers to growth, re-aligning senior teams and compiling action plans and strategies to aid business growth.
In his spare time, Phil plays basketball for Tamworth Tigers in Warwickshire, while also playing competitive golf; aiming to make it on to the Trilby Tour
Phillip.somers@egs.live
07790 358 561
Sarah Goodwin
South East - Essex, Thurrock and Southend
Sarah has extensive experience with working with a wide range of businesses helping them grow, accessing grant funding and growth opportunities. Previous experience at the local Growth Hub, Sarah supported manufacturing businesses of all sizes in Essex to identify new routes to market and product development.
Sarah’s first career was competing as a rider and schooling horses. A switch to media took her to becoming a sales director and then running her own magazine and website. Moving into business support two and a half years ago she enjoys working with the huge variety of businesses. Out of work Sarah enjoys everything that a large family and dog offer, attempting to keep fit and making candles.
sarah.goodwin@egs.live
07973 778 255
Amanda Freeland
Hertfordshire
Amanda has over 20 years of experience in providing and managing SME business support programmes. Most recently she was the Head of Service for Hertfordshire Growth Hub. She enjoys working with clients to develop and implement growth strategies, and with stakeholders to help their members and contacts find out about the support available to them. In her previous roles has developed programmes for specialist consultants and coaches to ensure that their expertise could easily be accessed by local firms.
A long-time resident of Hertfordshire, she is keen to support its manufacturers to benefit from the opportunities provided by the Manufacturing Growth Programme. A fluent French speaker, in her spare time Amanda enjoys travel, cooking, gardening and reading in her spare time.
amanda.freeland@egs.live
07973 946 529
David Whiteley
Leeds City Region
David is an experienced manufacturing professional, as Managing Director of 6 manufacturing businesses he has the knowledge to understand the issues business owners face and can quickly build confidence with clients allowing them to fully explore their manufacturing challenges. David has also built on his experience supporting high growth business and was a dedicated MAS Advisor in Yorkshire and Humber for 9 years.
David is a Chartered Marketer, has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Accounting, is a Lead Quality Assessor and has an MBA from Bradford which specialises in Strategic Management that support his experience.
James Smith
York, North Yorkshire, East Riding
James has significant business experience through being a director and shareholder of a £5m SME manufacturing business, giving huge insight into the day to day challenges, frustrations, stresses, opportunities and responsibilities of doing so. James is a huge advocate of business support programmes and has detailed knowledge of the manufacturing sector and the associated business support landscape.
Educated to degree level with two additional post graduate qualifications, James is very passionate about delivering meaningful and quantitative results for SME businesses.
james.smith@egs.live
07790 358 525
Neil Harriman
Humber & Greater Lincolnshire
Neil is an experienced professional with over 25 years accumulated knowledge in the manufacturing industry, which includes 15 years at Senior Management level. Neil is a passionate, self-motivated and tenacious business improvement professional with a proven track record of building and leading high-performance teams. Delivering sustainable change with projects across multiple functions, including projects that improved efficiency within steel inventory that released cash, at the same time as improving customer service.
With a Masters Business Administration degree, Neil is also an avid Rugby Union fan, he likes to travel, enjoys good food, quality wine and spending time with his growing family.
neil.harriman@egs.live
07790 358 637
Richard Halstead
Sheffield Region
Having worked with both Multinational Corporations and SME’s, Richard has a fantastic range of experience to help support SME Manufacturers, with also previously being a Board Director across a variety of manufacturing and business support companies.
Richard began his manufacturing career with Lucas Industries, at which he spent 18 years with the company, being involved with many business milestones.
Richard.halstead@egs.live
07704 308 217
Sharn Haywood-Higgs
Greater Birmingham and Solihull
Sharn is an experienced professional with over 10 years accumulated knowledge in the manufacturing industry and has worked with ambitious SME’s who have the passion and need to grow. Sharn has supported clients by listening to their needs and directing them to the best support available. Delivering sustainable change in a vast range of industries, whilst constantly updating and developing her core competencies and domain knowledge.
Prince2 Practitioner qualified amongst other certifications, Sharn is married with a son and spends her spare time supporting her son’s hobby – football.
sharn.haywood-higgs@egs.live
07790 358 654
Catherine Bray
The Marches & Worcestershire
Catherine is a practiced business consultant having worked directly with business owners and senior management teams to provide strategic guidance and deliver practical business solutions. Having worked with many SME manufacturers across a diverse urban/rural geography and through running her own business, Catherine understands and appreciates the issues business owners face and can quickly build confidence with clients allowing them to fully explore their business challenges.
A strategic business communicator with a proven ability to exploit commercial opportunities with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Catherine is also married with two boys and two cats, loves good food and drink, holidays, snow and sun.
catherine.bray@egs.live
07790 358 610
Helen Fortune
Black Country
Helen is a successful individual with extensive business knowledge, account management and customer service experience, historically working with New Business Start-Ups, working in Enterprise, the support comprised of helping businesses identify and implement the foundations needed to start a successful business, growth plans and training needs. Since then, Helen has been working with established growth potential businesses, helping them identify the barriers to their growth, through dialogue and the completion of the Strategic Business Review. Helen’s ultimate aim is to add value to all of the businesses she works with.
In her spare time Helen enjoys, friends, food and the whole experience that surrounds it.
helen.fortune@egs.live
07790 358 605
Marcus Pearson
Sheffield Region
Marcus has worked in a vast number of manufacturing businesses across all sectors in his 15-year career in business support. Particular areas of specialism include helping managers to identify and understand key and critical barriers to performance, the development of appropriate plans and strategies to address these and through an extensive network of contacts and providers introduce highly skilled individuals/organisations to provide direct intervention support.
When not at work, Marcus can either be found in the gym, on the golf course or taking the family dog – a boisterous and highly spoilt German Short Haired Pointer – for long walks.
marcus.pearson@egs.live
07790 358 517
Neil Kendall
Leeds City Region
An early career spent amassing a broad range of experience in marketing, information technology and project management for both blue-chip corporates and owner-managed businesses has led Neil to focus on strategic business change in companies at the small and medium end of the scale.
Neil is also a product of the family business in Halifax with experience in sectors including mechanical engineering and textiles. This, coupled with ten years helping local businesses to access publicly funded business support programmes, has given Neil has a unique set of perspectives to relate to small businesses in a practical and effective way, helping anyone with business hurdles to overcome to understand ways to meet their goals more easily.
neil.kendall@egs.live
07811 476 413
Robin Simpson
Solent
Robin has an extensive client history, working with FTSE100 and Fortune250 concerns, as well as providing support to hundreds of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A specialist in business growth and development, he has previously helped many of those Companies through the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and Growth Accelerator (GA).
Robin has an MBA, an MA in Strategy, and a Diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). Personal interests include maritime history and he is a keen coastal walker… which most recently has been with his baby son.
robin.simpson@egs.live
07773 228 147
Steve Sharp
Enterprise M3
Steve has previously worked at director level within both small and large companies, primarily within sales, marketing and brand development, and has worked with many SMEs in the marine, renewables and atomic sectors through government and EU-funded projects.
Steve has a BSc (Hons) in Natural Sciences, a postgraduate diploma in marketing and a MA in Business Management. When not working, Steve enjoys getting out on his motorbike or trying to emulate his favourite chefs in the kitchen.
stephen.sharp@egs.live
07973 778 222