One of the most valuable pieces of support that the BUG Programme offers to it's participants is the opportunity to be mentored in writing a business plan and starting a business. BUG Mentoring provided by BUG offers one-to-one sessions with local business leaders.
- Mentoring is offered FREE to all students, staff and recent alumni of the University of Gloucestershire.
- Meet the Mentors at the BUG Christmas Networking Event on Thursday 8th Decenber 2011. Bring along a 1 minute summary of your business idea to discuss with the Mentors in a 'Speed Mentoring' session.
- Your BUG Business Idea Summary needs to be submitted by Friday 27th January 2012. You will then be matched to a suitable Mentor.
- BUG Mentoring sessions will then take place from February onwards.
- The BUG Business Plan needs to be submitted by Thursday 3rd May 2012.
- BUG Finalist Presentations will take place on Thursday 24th May 2012.
- BUG Competition winners will be announced at the University of Gloucestershire's Enterprise Awards on Wednesday 11th July 2012.
BUG Mentor - Clive Kerridge
Clive Kerridge is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Gloucestershire’s School of Business and Management, focusing on strategy and enterprise teaching. He draws on an extensive experience of international business, particularly B2B technical marketing and general management, industry-university collaborative projects, and smaller enterprise ventures. He is Director of management consultancy KvH International Ltd. www.kvhinternational.com, which specialises in technology transfer and internationalisation projects.
Prior to founding KvH, Clive had a successful executive career with Foseco/Burmah Castrol/BP, managing group companies, international joint-ventures and strategic M&A initiatives. Formerly a lecturer in materials technology at Coventry University, his international business experience has included periods based in the UK, South America, Spain and France.
Clive is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv); holds a Masters Degree from the University of Oxford; and is a Fellow of the IoM3 (FIMMM). A graduate of the INSEAD business school’s Advanced Management Programme, he is module tutor for the BUE enterprise pathway and for several strategy and SHRM modules (undergraduate and postgraduate levels) at the University of Gloucestershire.
BUG Mentor - Emma Heathcote-James
Emma Heathcote-James has a wealth of experience in PR, Media, Writing, Knowledge Exchange and Teaching. Educated at the University of Birmingham, Emma's subsequent career started in radio broadcasting and teaching. She went on to work in a variety of roles within the media industry and founded and managed the Gloucestershire Media Group, alongside which her role at the University of Gloucestershire as a Knowledge Exchange Specialist saw Emma described as a 'true innovater and creative dynamo who really gets results'. Known as an excellent networker she is always willing to try new things and is great at forcing at forcing through change.
After completing a couple of major contracts in August 2008 Emma was desperate for a portal to express her own creativity and need to get her hands dirty so decided to put to use the business skills she had acquired over the years to use and practice what she had been preaching in terms of setting up a new creative enterprise! She bought a desperately failing 'hobby' business, leant how to make soap, rebranded and repackaged, created the website, gained wholesale customers and worked closely with website designers, marketing consultants, Business Link and WiRE. The outcome was the Little Soap Company.
At the University of Gloucestershire's 2011 Enterprise Awards, Emma won the award for former students or staff "Enterprise Legacy Award" and has since gone on to win the 2011 Worcestershire Corporate Responsibility (CSR) Award for the Environment with Little Soap Company.
The Little Soap Company is run entirely by Emma, who manages every aspect of the company and is responsible for solely creating the brand, the product, the packaging and the marketing. The success of the brand has been recognised and is now stocked by one of the UK's leading supermarkets and she is currently in negotiations with others and new distribution channels. Emma’s venture has lead to varied and interesting business opportunities from delivering to stately homes one day, to delivering to niche hotels the next to the National Trust, to making and producing the soaps. A more recent addition to the Little brand is Little Soap School which offers luxury one on one and small group workshops on how to make soap and also creams, lotions and balms. Heavily involved with Young Enterprise and always one to voice her opinions, Emma is often asked to speak at conferences, schools and organisations about her journey and about women in enterprise - espeically rural enterprise.
Emma is currently Director at Little Soap Company, Director at Spotty Dog Productions Ltd, Director (voluntary) at Archive Arts Community Interest Group, as well as writing features for various publications including Daisygreenmagazine.co.uk, UK Handmade, Handmade Living Magazine and the Cotswold & Vale Magazine.
BUG Mentor - Michael Pain
For the last 10 years Michael Pain has run a small business providing part time financial director services. He personally helps small and medium sized entities to grow successfully through sound financial management, business development and corporate coaching. Michael has a particular interest and experience in high technology companies and the food sector. He fulfils the role of finance director to a number of ambitious rapidly growing organisations working for each on a part time basis.
Metryx was formed with a view to bringing a significant change to semiconductor measurement technology.
Extract Coffee Roasters are coffee artisans and New Zealand inspired roasters of 100% specialty grade Arabica, perfectly crafted on ‘Betty’, their 1955 cast iron vintage drum roaster.
In practical terms Michael likes to see a structured systematic approach to business development and good cash control. He has a reputation for his commercial attitude and for building appropriate cash reserves which have enabled his clients to survive the downturn and take advantage of opportunities.
Prior to his current role Michael worked as a finance director to a rapidly growing family business. He trained as an accountant with one of the top accountancy practices and spent over 15 years in practice specialising in owner managed businesses. Michael is a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant.
Michael Pain currently works for Amber Business.
BUG Mentor - Neilson Kite
Neilson Kite specialises in helping companies clarify direction and improve their rate of business development. From factories, farms and furniture makers, to IT specialists, lawyers and marketing consultancies. He has been actively involved in top team alignment, improving company positioning, developing sales teams and rolling out successful marketing programmes for organisations of all sizes.
Following senior marketing positions in ICL, BOC and Thorn EMI, Neilson was a Director of London marketing consultancy Horsley Limited, Managing Director of Minerva Industrial Systems, which from start-up became one of the UK’s fastest growing manufacturing software companies. He has also been Director of the Computing Services and Software Association, South West Interactive Media, Gloucestershire Innovation Centre and Tomorrow’s Business International Limited and a Management Consultant specialising in marketing and business development.
As a member of the UN’s International Trade Centre team, he has been actively involved in programmes to stimulate trade in emerging and transition economies through business analysis and the development of countries’ and businesses’ competitive marketing strategies.
An important aspect of Neilson’s work is to facilitate tailored programmes for management teams wishing to solve problems, gain better focus and increase business momentum, a process that invariably produces positive results.
He is also a published author on both NLP and Emotional Intelligence topics.
BUG Mentor - Peter Doggett
Peter is an experienced leader with over 20 years success at a senior level in the UK manufacturing sector.
His main strengths and experience are developing teams and individuals through coaching and mentoring to produce excellence in all aspects of leadership and business development. During his career he has managed many change programmes including working in South Korea with Spirax Sarco and as the MD of Manufacturing for Arjo Med AB Ltd.
He enjoys working with ambitious business leaders who benefit from spending time working on their businesses either on an individual basis or as part of his Vistage Group Think Tank group for leaders in Gloucestershire. He has been a member of Vistage for nearly 7 years and a Group Chairman for 4.
His proudest achievements have been to see the people he has worked with grow and stretch themselves to achieve their true potential. This is demonstrated in his particular affinity with young and new business owners. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and his coaching and mentoring skills are applicable to any sector.
Married to Yvonne for 32 years, they have two sons who both run their own businesses. A practising musician, Peter believes that fun and enthusiasm are critical parts of life and work.
www.vistage.co.uk/chairs/Peter.Doggett.html
www.linkedin.com/in/peterdoggettconnect
peter@peterdoggett.co.uk
BUG Mentor - Peter Hewlett
Peter has had an interesting and varied career working within large blue chip companies at senior director level and mentoring small companies as a Non-Executive Director. He worked within the aerospace industry with GEC Marconi as a Commercial Director and later as General Manager of various product divisions specialising in the design and development of aircraft avionic systems. The majority of this business activity was for export to Government and Aerospace customers in USA, Europe, and the Far East.
Following the development of certain safety critical technologies by the Research & Development engineering team he led this new business diversification aimed at the subsea oil and gas market sector and achieved annual revenue of £10m p.a. within 4 years. To achieve the business growth vision and ambitions he persuaded GEC Marconi to sell the company to ABB (an established industry supplier of subsea systems to global Oil & Gas companies) Over the next 5 years the company revenues grew to some £50m p.a. employing 500 people across locations in Bristol, Aberdeen, Falmouth, and Houston Texas. In addition to his role as Managing Director of ABB Offshore Systems Ltd, Peter was also Chairman of ABB Offshore Systems Houston. He was also appointed Director of ABB Automation and a new joint venture company formed by ABB and Schlumberger
Upon his retirement Peter’s focus turned to helping small companies as a consultant and Non-Executive Director mentoring their management teams. These included two start-up companies launched from Ulster University. He then joined a small engineering consultancy based in Aberdeen as an investor and Non-Executive Director, this company grew from a staff of 7 to 45 with a £4.0m revenue in 3 years, an exit strategy was agreed and the company was sold a year later to a large FTSE quoted company. He then joined TDB Software based in Bracknell as a Non-Executive Director and last year he was appointed to a board of a local Nursing Home, (quite a different challenge!)
Peter is a firm believer of having a positive view towards business and people. Business issues and problems tend to be the same within any business or industry sector. Growing a business is demanding and exciting, a business plan with a clear focus on achieving business goals is essential to achieve business success.
BUG Mentor - Scott Harvey
Scott's original training was in electronic engineering (in his home city of Aberdeen) but that original direction changed many years ago when he decided to join the Civil Service and move to London. This brought him into his first people and business management role, a role that has continued since. His civil service career lasted over 30 years and included time in Whitehall (and elsewhere) working in the defence and other areas. During this period he had no less than 24 jobs ranging from PRINCE2 project and programme management through HR strategy, talent management and finance into operational management. This has left him with a wide range of skills which he now uses both as an independent consultant and in non-executive director roles.
The variety of management challenges faced during his main career included delivering core ICT change against very challenging time scales (and tight budgets) through to significant soft changes organisation wide. These rested alongside day to day budget management and people management issues in multi-million pound activity with groups from a handful to thousands. This work has continued in Scott's consultancy career eg He recently led the design and initial implementation of a significant change programme in a UK University.
His consultancy work tends to be mainly in soft aspects of business change, HR and leadership development. Largely this is because these areas offer interesting challenges but also because these are, in his view, the keys to successful change. He uses his psychometric assessor and emotional intelligence coaching skills alongside extensive experience in NLP, coaching and mentoring for many of these change opportunities. In addition, he currently has a number of people he is working with in personal 1 to 1, SME business advisory and large business executive coaching areas.
Scott's non-executive directorships include board membership of both the University of Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire College (one of the largest Further Education colleges in England). He is also a director of an international commercial organisation based in London along with roles in a number of smaller commercial concerns.
Scott is the current chair of the Gloucestershire branch of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and work with the CMI has included the design and development of a suite of tutorial materials for CMI students at levels 5 and 7, and assessor/ marker roles for an approved centre.
His qualifications include a level 7 in management, an MBA, qualifications in emotional intelligence, coaching, mentoring and NVQ assessment. Scott also hold certificates in hypnosis, as an NLP practitioner and in psychometric testing. He is a Companion of the CMI, Fellow of the Institute for Leadership and Management and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.
For obvious reasons Scott's main area of expertise is in the fields of change, people and psychology, coaching and mentoring. CIPD have invited him to speak nationally on talent management and recruitment (topics on which he has also written).
Scott Harvey MBA CCMI FInstLM PMICS GCGI
BUG Mentor - Tony Crook
Tony Crook has been Chief Executive of a number of companies over the past 22 years, primarily in newspapers and media technology, and principally with The Times and The Sunday Times, where he began his management career. After retiring, he worked as an Independent Business Consultant in the Middle and Far East and in the U.S., and on contracts for the Financial Times, Birmingham Post & Mail and with Business Links throughout the South West as a Specialist Adviser.
Among other roles, he was MD of Gloucestershire Innovation Centre (a fully supportive working environment for developing new businesses) and chairman of Gloucestershire CBI. He has also worked closely with Young Enterprise and the Prince’s Trust.
Tony is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Management and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Gloucestershire. At the University’s 2011 Enterprise Awards, he won the Employer Mentor Award. As an active mentor on the University’s BUG programme since its inception and a tutor on the Business Management course for the past eight years, Tony got involved in mentoring over 20 years ago when he was Chairman of the Enterprise in Higher Education programme. Whilst mentoring on the BUG programme, Tony has worked with graduates on the successful launch of several new businesses, supporting them in areas such as resources, funding, marketing, production, organisation and governance.