Delivery Experts

Meet the experts who deliver Help to Grow: Management at Northumbria University.

Peter Fleming

Peter is an experienced strategic business growth consultant and Associate Lecturer (Facilitator) on the Help to Grow Management Programme. Peter has a broad commercial background across leadership, sales, operations and SME growth, including 28 years in the commercial vehicle sector in senior roles at Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Group. For the last 12 years Peter has worked with owner-managed and growing businesses, supporting strategy, sales development, leadership and practical growth planning. He brings this real-world business experience into the HtGM programme, helping delegates apply the models, frameworks and case studies directly to their own businesses.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Programme Facilitator - supporting delivery across the full Help to Grow: Management Programme at Northumbria University.

Peter facilitates weekly module sessions, leads peer group calls and mentors selected Help to Grow delegates from other business schools.

And delivers HtGM Alumni workshops and short courses such as the GAP - Leadership Programme.

What are the key messages within the facilitation of the programme?

• Growth needs clarity, leadership and a practical plan of action
• You got to implement as Business frameworks only create value when applied to real challenges.
• Peer learning is powerful and often creates the biggest lightbulb moments.
• Change starts with you!, the business owner or senior leader.

Why does your background make you an expert to facilitate the programme?

Peter combines senior commercial leadership experience with hands-on advisory work supporting SMEs and owner-managed businesses. Peter has led teams, developed growth strategies and worked closely with business owners on the practical challenges of scaling, improving leadership capability, strengthening sales and building sustainable businesses. His facilitation style is practical, supportive and commercially focused.

 

Matthew Lievesley

Matthew is a passionate advocate for entrepreneurial and creative thinking as a driver of new business opportunities. Trained in both Design and Business, he has developed new product ranges and improved services across a range of contexts.

Funded through Innovate UK, at Northumbria University he has led many Knowledge Transfer Programmes, helping organisations embed Industrial Design, Product Development and Service Design capabilities - work that has, for example, helped a regional manufacturer win their first international Red Dot Design Award.

Over the last decade, Matthew's focus has shifted towards Service Development, partnering with owners and leaders across private, voluntary and public sectors - with an increasing emphasis on healthcare-related innovation.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 1 – Strategy and Innovation

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

• Knowing what your trusted customers look to you for is key to making good strategic choices and bringing focus to your effort.
• The importance of knowing what makes you (and keeps you) distinctive and hard to copy
• How to draw on yours and your colleagues’ insights, when planning for new areas of business.

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

Matthew has worked in and with SMEs throughout his career, supporting them to define, design and realise new products and services. Beginning in Design and later Product Management in UK manufacturing, he has brought many products to market, securing several Patents and Registered Designs.

He has coached business owners through the UK Design Council, working with leadership teams to analyse their strengths and express these through Identity and Service/Product strategies. Through 2022/23, funded by Innovate UK, he supported 40 high-growth-potential start-ups developing offers for the healthy-ageing market.

He is one of the original authors of the Help-to-Grow Management course.

 

Justin Turner

Justin Turner has spent over twenty years building businesses, advising owners and teaching the stuff that actually matters. It’s not the theory, but the decisions you face when the numbers don't add up, and you're not sure what to do next.

He runs Orange Umbrella, an accountancy and business advisory practice in the North East, where he works day-to-day with small business owners and company directors on everything from cash flow and tax to systems, structure and growth.

He also teaches entrepreneurship, finance and innovation at Northumbria University, where he has been an associate lecturer since 2011.

Justin is the author of three books, including The Science of Business — a top 100 Amazon category bestseller that uses scientific principles, storytelling and humour to help business owners think more clearly, lead better and make smarter decisions. The kind of business book people actually finish. After all, no one enjoys tax; even if he did write a book on it.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 11, Financial Management.

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

• Financial management is not just about accounts, tax or year-end reports. It is about building a business system that gives owners better information and better control.
• Money is the result of the wider business system. Inputs, processes, outputs and customer results all flow through into profit, cash flow and business value.
• Better financial systems help business owners understand margins, pricing, cash flow, capacity and risk.
• Automation, cloud accounting, bank feeds, invoice capture, payment tools and dashboards can reduce errors, save time and improve decision-making.
• Management accounts and KPIs should be used during the year, not after the opportunity to act has passed.
• Strong finance processes support growth because they make the business more repeatable, less owner-dependent and easier to manage.

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

Justin brings a rare mix of finance, technology systems and real business experience. He started Orange Umbrella in 2012 and has advised hundreds of small business owners on tax, cash flow, business structure, systems and growth. He previously ran a web agency for almost ten years and holds a degree in Information Systems, giving him a strong understanding of how technology, automation and data flow through a business.

Justin is also the Finance Director of Abode Living, where he established & runs the financial controls needed in a regulated property environment.

His teaching is grounded in practical examples from real SMEs, including helping business owners move away from manual, paper-heavy processes towards connected, automated systems that give them better visibility and control.

This background allows him to teach financial management in a practical way. Participants are shown how to build better systems, reduce waste, improve cash visibility and make finance part of everyday business decision-making.

 

Rachel Skeoch

Rachel is a Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) accredited Marketing Director with more than 10 years of experience helping engineering, manufacturing and industrial businesses achieve sustainable growth through strategic marketing. Having worked across start-ups, scale-ups and global organisations, Rachel specialises in developing marketing strategies that align commercial objectives with brand positioning, customer engagement and business growth. As Marketing Director at Dyer, Rachel leads the development and delivery of marketing, communications and brand strategy across the growing engineering firm. Rachel holds a Master’s Degree in International Politics and is passionate about strengthening the competitiveness and profile of UK industry through effective marketing and communication.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 5 – Developing a Marketing Strategy

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

• Understanding marketing as a strategic business function and how it supports growth, competitiveness and commercial objectives.
• Using segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) to identify the right customers, strengthen market positioning and focus marketing activity.
• Aligning customer insight, brand positioning and internal culture to create a clear, consistent marketing strategy that delivers results.

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

Rachel has spent more than 10 years developing and delivering marketing strategies for businesses ranging from ambitious SMEs to global organisations. Working closely with leadership teams, she has helped organisations align marketing activity with commercial objectives, strengthen brand positioning and support sustainable growth.

With experience spanning strategy, communications, brand development and stakeholder engagement, Rachel brings a practical, real-world perspective to marketing planning. Having worked both as an embedded consultant and in-house Marketing Director, she understands the challenges businesses face when turning strategic ambition into actionable marketing plans and measurable results.

 

Kate Gresswell-Pettitt

Kate is an experienced communications and marketing professional specialising in brand, stakeholder engagement, content strategy and relationship building. She has worked in-house, freelance and in communications and marketing agencies in London and Newcastle for nearly 20 years. A Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and holder of a Diploma in Professional Marketing, Kate combines strategic thinking with creative storytelling to engage diverse audiences. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has a longstanding interest in culture and the power of communications to drive positive change.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 6 – Building a Brand - Case Study

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

• Branding is a process involving telling the story of a business
• Customers can collectively engage with a brand at an emotional level
• How a brand can help market positioning and business growth

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

Kate’s expertise in branding stems from an extensive career in communications, marketing and stakeholder engagement. Throughout her professional experience, she has been responsible for developing and delivering strategic communications that articulate organisational purpose, values and impact to diverse audiences. This has given her a deep understanding of branding as a process of storytelling that shapes how organisations are perceived.

Brands are far more than logos and visual identities. Through her work engaging members, customers, suppliers and stakeholders, she has seen how successful brands create emotional connections by reflecting shared values, aspirations and experiences. Her experience demonstrates how organisations can build trust, loyalty and advocacy when their brand resonates with the people they serve.

Throughout her career, Kate has taken an active role in ensuring that branding helps organisations differentiate themselves in competitive markets, communicate their unique value proposition and attract new customers, partners and opportunities.

 

Kathleen Shiel

Kathleen is an accomplished and passionate business improvement specialist with a proven track record of delivering strategically aligned results across businesses of all sizes - from micro-enterprises to large organisations. Drawing on expertise in Operational Excellence, Lean methodologies, and Project Management, she partners with businesses to improve how they operate to achieve sustainable growth.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 10 – Efficient Operations

Module 12 – Implementing Growth Plans

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

Module 10 – Efficient Operations

• Identify and understand the role operations play in driving your business forward.
• Discover practical tools and methods to strengthen how you manage and improve day-to-day operations.
• Explore how productivity improvements, digital adoption and sustainability integration can transform your business.

Module 12 – Implementing Growth Plans

• Dedicated time to step back, work on your business, and reflect on your learning journey.
• Identify the strategic actions that will drive real results and achieve your business goals.
• Leave with a clear, executable growth plan you can put into action immediately.

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

With senior operational management experience and her own consultancy, Kathleen brings real-world insight to every session. She combines analytical thinking with strong communication and coaching skills, enabling her to influence and inspire people at every level - translating strategy into practical, tangible action.

 

Colin Richardson

Dr Colin Richardson OBE PhD PGCert SFHEA is an Assistant Professor in Business Information Systems and Data Analytics at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. With over 30 years of senior industry experience spanning emergency services, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare, bringing practical, hands-on expertise in digital transformation directly into the classroom. He has led major data transformation programmes for international organisations, giving him first-hand insight into the challenges businesses face when adopting new technologies and processes. His teaching emphasises real-world application, helping participants understand not just the theory of digital transformation, but what it actually takes to make it work in practice.

 

Alice Ackroyd

Alice is a seasoned HR and development specialist passionate about helping management teams create structures and cultures where people feel valued, rewarded and able to deliver their best. Having worked as a development specialist within businesses for many years, Alice uses her expertise to help develop and implement a people plan that is aligned with the business’ goals and vision for growth. Unlike many HR and Development consultants, she has worked in growing organisations throughout her career, and understands the importance of creating an employee value proposition and culture which supports employees to perform.

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 9 - High Performance Workplace - Case Study

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

• How to engage your employees/teams and help them through the inevitable changes that happen as a company grows
• How leadership helps or hinders employee engagement and growth
• The type of leadership style and organisation structure needed for a growing organisation

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

Alice has worked in growing SMEs for most of her career as a HR and leadership specialist, so has experience with employee engagement and communication processes and has also developed managers to recruit, develop and consult as part of their role. Alice has also coached managers on how to adapt to change and the importance of the collective ‘leadership shadow’ in providing consistency and reassurance that the senior team have both the employees and business interests at heart. 

 

Peter Hammond

Peter has over 30 years’ experience in HR and training, working internationally across all sectors. He has run his own HR and training consultancy for 20 years, supporting small, medium, and large organisations across the North of England. During that time, he has trained HR professionals via blended learning in the private sector and worked as an associate consultant for his professional body, CIPD.  

Which module of the Help to Grow: Management course do you deliver?

Module 8 - Employee Engagement and Leading Change

What are the key messages within the module you deliver?

• A systematic approach to planning change can really improve the chances for the project to succeed
• If you understand how humans react to change you can support them more effectively
• Engaging effectively with employees can connect them more to the business, improving their performance and your productivity
• It is important to identify your strengths as a change leader, develop other areas, and adjust your mindset

Why does your background make you an expert to deliver on the subject?

Peter has experience of leading change projects at all levels in large and small organisations, involving senior managers and employees. He is qualified to coach and support those struggling with change, so uses these skills to support those on the course with difficulties in their respective organisations.