Meet The Team | Manufacturing Growth Programme

Meet The Team

Please click your region to view details of your local Manufacturing Growth Manager.

The Manufacturing Growth Programme is supported by a professional, friendly Project Support Team that engage with SME Manufacturers regularly to support their business improvement projects. To get in touch, email admin@egs.live

Adrian Waters

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 557

Amanda Freeland

Amanda Freeland

Hertfordshire

Amanda has over 25 years of experience in developing and managing SME business support programmes. Her previous role was as Head of Service for Hertfordshire Growth Hub. She enjoys working with clients to support and implement growth strategies, and with stakeholders to help their members and contacts find out about the support available to them. She has also developed programmes for specialist consultants and coaches to enable their expertise to be accessed easily 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.

amanda.freeland@oxin.co.uk
07973 946 529

Catherine Bray

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 610

Daren Booth

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@oxin.co.uk
07971 062 279

James Bosworth

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 583

Jeremy Boye

Jeremy Boye

Leeds City Region

Jeremy holds a wealth of experience working with employers from a wide range of sectors and working on ESF/ESIF funded projects such as the Skills Fund, the Skills Enhancement Fund, Workplace Learning and more recently the LEP skills service. More recently he has worked with businesses within the Leeds City Region focusing specifically within the Finance, Business, Engineering and Manufacturing and Creative and Digital sectors.

Jeremy’s aim is to continue to support businesses to fulfil their specific needs. As a Manufacturing Growth Manager, he will be working with manufacturing employers to assist them in growing their businesses by making improvements and removing their barriers to growth.

Outside of work, Jeremy is passionate about sport and volunteers as a judge for England Amateur Boxing. He also supports Chelsea football club and enjoys working out at the gym.

jeremy.boye@oxin.co.uk
07811 476413

Marcus Pearson

Marcus Pearson

South Yorkshire

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 517

Mark Taft

Mark Taft

Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire (D2N2)

Mark is a commercially minded business professional who has a vast amount of Boardroom and business owner experience across many corporate and SME sector environments. He is very passionate about working with business owners in helping them identify the critical barriers which are holding the businesses back and working with them in providing business support to help them achieve their growth aspirations.

Mark has built his experience through working in industry where he has held several senior roles as well as working on previous business support programmes for several years covering the East Midlands region.

In his spare time, he likes to play 5 a side football or can be seen on the golf course trying to find his ball!

mark.taft@oxin.co.uk
07542 861158

Michelle Connor

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 674

Neil Harriman

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 637

Shaughan Farrow

Shaughan Farrow

York, North Yorkshire, East Riding, Humber

Shaughan is a proven SFEDI qualified business advisor with circa 30 years’ experience in the field of business development, change management and strategic marketing across various sectors. Having a creative mind and being a forward thinker, he often sees the bigger picture in identifying gaps and niches that represent new business opportunities.

Shaughan’s experience comes from sat on both sides of the desk, as an entrepreneur running and selling a successful Advertising Agency to coaching, mentoring and advising other SME’s develop and implement customer led marketing strategies. He is passionate about simplifying the business support landscape by offering pragmatic, no-nonsense support to enable entrepreneurs achieve realistic, sound innovative solutions to barriers to growth.

Shaughan’s background in business support started as an advisor with Business Link Humber to managing 12 advisors across Yorkshire and Humber through to project managing South Yorkshire Erdf contracts.

With a BA Hons degree in Art and design, Communications and Marketing (CAM) diploma and Management Consulting Diploma he is an avid football fan – (being ex footballer) and keen golfer (handicap -Golf courses). He likes keeping fit, traveling (especially to the sun) good wine and time with Grandchildren.

shaughan.farrow@oxin.co.uk
07707 276 592

Phil Somers

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 561

Robin Simpson

Robin Simpson

Solent, Enterprise M3

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@oxin.co.uk
07773 228 147

Richard Halstead

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@oxin.co.uk
07704 308 217

Sarah Goodwin

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@oxin.co.uk
07973 778 255

Sharn Haywood-Higgs

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 654

Helen Fortune

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@oxin.co.uk
07790 358 605