The Evoke Team

Rob is a forward-thinking CIMA qualified Management Accountant. He has both founded and taken over existing businesses, as well as invested in a number of start-up companies. Rob’s passion is to help SMEs and entrepreneurs to move their business forward by providing flexible access to excellent strategic advice and guidance.

He has worked with a range of SME companies helping them overcome challenges and enhance business performance to take them to the next level.

At Evoke Management, Rob has grown a team of experienced portfolio Finance and Commercial directors who work on a part-time basis with companies to add value to the senior team by plugging a knowledge or skills gap. Rob has a hands on approach to keeping involved and remains engaged with all the Evoke clients that his team supports.

Rob also brings like minded business owners and founders together through his business International Leaders UK, where they learn from each other, as well as a community of trusted advisors and experts. In 2022, Rob started the Move Your Business Forward Podcast with a focus on sharing business insights and entrepreneurs’ stories to help inspire, encourage and educate others on moving their business forward.

When he’s not working, Rob loves spending time with his family, and can often be found near or on water – he’s a passionate Yachtmaster, partial to both sailing and motorboats.

David is a serial entrepreneur with over 30 years’ experience of starting and growing SME businesses, leading to successful exits to organisations such as Trader Media Group (AutoTrader).

His love of business began in his teens, as the UK national winner of the Young Enterprise Business Competition, before going on to head companies primarily specialising in sales and marketing.

He has a hands on, friendly approach, with a ‘been there, done that’ attitude and now thrives on helping other business owners realise their ambitions.”

Adam is a director-level operator, with extensive experience gained from over 35 years of sales, marketing and general management in sectors including FMCG, Consumer Health, Beauty and Personal Care. 

His career to date has been diverse, ranging from running £100m+ business units, through to launching new brands into multiple markets from a zero base. 

He has worked both in the UK and internationally, spending a total of 9 years in both Germany and Portugal, with medium-term assignments in the Middle East.

Adam’s style is expeditious and to-the-point, and his focus is always “easy to do business with”. 

Bristol born-and-bred, he returned to his roots in the early 2010’s and started his own locally based business in 2021. WIth a large extended family in the city, Adam is passionate about helping local, South West SME’s to  grow and succeed.

Khalid is a senior business leader and entrepreneur with over 28 years’ experience across various sectors including FMCG, Manufacturing, Property Development, Education Management and Holding Companies/Family Offices spanning from the UK, Australia the Middle East and Europe.

With a commercial mind and rounded experience of developing and implementing business strategies combined with customer focused senior leader experience, he has successfully achieved growth, profitability and increased productivity through his ‘hands on’ approach with people and process innovation.

Khalid’s international commercial exposure has not only developed his network and ties within the Middle Eastern government and private sectors, but has also refined his cultural management and leadership skills in developing and forging successful and lasting partnerships.

Philip is an experienced entrepreneur and accomplished leader with a 25-year record in growing multinational businesses across all aspects including strategy, corporate and business development, operations and finance, drawing on deep operational knowledge of retail and hospitality, SaaS solutions, technical consulting and sales, data integration and analytics.

Philip is a manager who has built, mentored, and inspired successful multinational teams, with a founder ethos and an extensive network of C-level contacts around the world.

Most recently, Philip co-founded a successful bootstrapped SaaS start-up and grew to a market leading global organisation, providing solutions for the world’s largest retailers, before a successful sale and exit.

John is a highly experienced business and commercial leader with a proven track record of positively impacting performance through effective strategic planning, delivery and governance. A people focussed leader, John is skilled in coaching and developing highly effective teams and actively fostering strong customer relationships delivering best in class customer service.

With a career spanning over 35 years, John’s experience includes grocery retailing, the automotive industry and the coatings & construction sector with market leading companies such as Tesco, Unipart and Dulux. He also has over 10 years experience of multiple board memberships including ICI PLC alongside responsibilities as a Pension Board Trustee. 

Whilst experienced in B2C, John is especially skilled in B2B retailing. He has the ability to communicate at all levels within an organisation, driving high levels of teamwork, collaboration and engagement, empowering teams to work effectively with customers and deliver the best possible outcome.

Past achievements include leading the creation and delivery of a growth strategy for Dulux Decorator Centre in the UK, growing the business footprint by over 30% to become truly nationwide through multiple new store openings, bolt on acquisitions and e-commerce, alongside the introduction of a number of industry leading customer service initiatives driving profitable sales growth.

John particularly enjoys bringing his extensive knowledge of best practices to help SME businesses scale, increase profit and for some, exit.

Keith is a highly regarded Finance and Commercial Operations Director, offering businesses knowledge and experience gained from his notable media background. His creative calling motivated Keith’s desire to work in TV, film, broadcast PR, creative advertising and music. He is on a mission to prove that not all accountants are boring!

A qualified ACCA accountant, Keith’s strengths are strategic commercial thinking and a creative leaning that allows him to enjoy working with numbers – rather than crunching them.

Ranked 5th out of 2,000 as a top producing UK financial services sales executive within UK TOP 100 FTSE Company, Keith’s skills are sought after and impressive. His key business skills serve well at a senior commercial level, but his belief that people skills are fundamentally the most important aspect of working with businesses, makes his approach unique and continually proves to be conducive to success.

Keith’s diverse and invaluable experience across a range of sectors makes him an asset to Evoke Management. Emotionally intelligent, he understands his clients’ ethos and aims from a uniquely personal perspective and forms friendly and productive relationships.

He works hard, and plays harder. Frequent rest periods are required for battery recharge, and his favourite form of leisure is relaxing in the sunshine, preferably with the sound of the ocean nearby. A piano player since the age of 6, music is a creative driver for Keith. As soon as his schedule allows, he’s planning to sign up for a course on the science of sound – what switches your ear on when it’s a good tune – and why?

Sam brings over 19 years of experience working closely with over 100 businesses in their strategic planning and implementation to unlock growth, commercial value and strategic direction.   With her passion for identifying and creating launch and growth opportunities in relevant product sectors and commercial markets she has worked on projects that include establishing and adjusting business plans, proposition development and market landscaping, initiating product, pricing, sales and marketing strategies, core positioning and messaging, customer alignment and contingency planning.

Not always a consultant, Sam is an award winning entrepreneur who started her first business at 26, following an MBA in Madrid, launching and distributing international brands into the UK market.   Since then she has worked for Start-ups and SME’s across multiple service and product industries to include luxury goods, FMCG, fashion, beauty and well being, healthcare, food and cleaning. 

With her extensive knowledge and ability to communicate across all structures she is particularly interested in helping companies understand their markets and competitive environments, achieve their long term goals, seize those opportunities and the resulting strategic implications

Dave is an experienced C-Suite executive, with many career roles in Marketing, Product management, and general management for both B2C and B2B businesses.  He has broad sector experience including FinTech, Travel, Gaming, Mobile, Retail, Science, and Education. The majority of Dave’s career has been working in disruptive businesses harnessing the power of new technology and digital to create new business models and opportunities.

Dave has worked for many listed companies including household names such as Amazon and Yahoo, as well as niche sector specialists such as Stepstone, Zattikka, and PrimaryBid. He has a proven track record of achievement across these businesses, ranging from major growth and customer acquisition activity, redeveloping commercial business models and driving significant product development projects.

Dave’s most recent in-house role was Chief Operations Officer for PrimaryBid, an award-winning FinTech business. Here he held a pivotal part in building the team who launched the website and mobile app, resulting in an 8x growth in business valuation.

Liz is a versatile business leader with 20 years experience in a variety of sectors including financial services, telecoms, property and professional services. Having delivered results in both entrepreneurial and PE backed businesses, Liz has significant experience in working with regulated firms in the Financial Sector, and firms undergoing change and growth.

With a proven ability to influence at Board level, Liz has a high drive and work ethic to deliver pragmatic, business focused solutions in high growth businesses. She is a trusted partner within the C Suite known for her ability to achieve change and work with colleagues to drive results.

Liz’s areas of expertise include:

• Growth strategy
• Exit strategy
• Commercial strategy to tactical execution
• Change Management
• Marketing strategy and execution
• Client acquisition and retention strategies, client journey 

Her most recent role with Hamilton Court, as Chief Operating Officer, has overseen growth from £10m to £40m revenue in 3 years and headcount growth of 25 to 150 people, with a multi-brand strategy focusing on both top line performance and high profitability.

Richard is an enthusiastic and engaging problem solver who is able to quickly absorb knowledge and get up to speed across many disciplines.  He can operate at the C-suite level as easily as on the shop floor.

His broad experience, from working for Top Tier Investment Banks down to a Family Owned Travel Business puts him in a unique position to be able to seamlessly fit into the culture of any client.

Recently, Richard has successfully worked with 2 co-working companies, bringing enhanced discipline to the finance teams and strategic guidance to restructure the business model and enhance bottom line profitability, both as a going concern as well as for a potential future sale.

Bernardus is an experienced Finance and Commercial Director with over 20 years of dedicated and results oriented experience. He has provided strategic direction, financial management, and advisory services to a variety of organisations from corporate to owner founders, start-ups, and PE/VC backed businesses. 

He has a track record in fast growing tech, SaaS, media, and digital environments with extensive experience in managing Finance teams and HR/operational. Bernardus is adept at building productive and cooperative working relationships with board members and other stakeholders to deliver corporate objectives.

Robert has been a CIMA Fellow for 25 years and has 20 years’ experience of operating as CFO in family owned SMEs involving technology, online & traditional retail, travel & transport across Europe. He offers strong financial stewardship, corporate governance and strategic planning, whilst retaining a ‘hands-on’ approach.

His achievements include:

• Steering a  travel & technology based Group thru’ the 2008 recession

• Prepared & sold 2 companies, one overseas, the other to a well-known Media Group

• Numerous acquisitions both home & abroad with appropriate due diligence

• Modernising premises & systems in traditional family owned Department Store

• Implemented the first Euro Compliant tills in the UK & across Europe

His strengths are in forwarding planning and project implementation, creating the space to think strategically and be pro-active rather than reactive and being able to evaluate, review and refine objectives as and where appropriate.

Robert prides himself on being an effective communicator at all levels, a team leader by example, constantly striving to improve performance and develop both the staff & systems around him.

Stephen has over 30 years of leadership experience in the UK, US and Middle East, spanning roles of Chair, Managing Director, Executive Director and Board Adviser, and more than 20 years as a business founder and owner. A proven change leader and team builder, he has worked extensively with SME businesses across sectors including manufacturing and operations, construction, architecture, design and project management. 

Pragmatic and collaborative, Stephen has led sustainable growth and profitability in each of these companies by establishing coherent sales and marketing strategies; implementing rigorous financial controls and procedures, increasing productivity, streamlining operations and driving efficiencies. 

He spearheaded the successful expansion of several companies into international markets and has personally led numerous high-value contract negotiations with multinationals and government organisations.

An excellent strategist and communicator, Stephen is focused on helping business owners solve immediate challenges, identify efficiencies and areas for growth, develop their company’s value and market position and meet their longer term aspirations.

Hugh is a senior finance executive and CIMA Fellow with over 30 years of experience in financial management in a US Fortune 500 MNC, at both a national and international level in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia.

Hugh is commercially focussed and is recognised for a proven track record of effective business partnering, complex large project evaluation and implementation (including capital projects, M&A and disposals, Sale of Equipment and Services), risk assessment, contract structuring, operational strategy development, data-driven operational financial analysis skills and change management.

Hugh possesses highly transferable talents in governance, business solutions, business planning, value-added partnerships and leadership. He has a hands-on approach to problem-solving, combined with an effective interpersonal communication style, adept at working in a multi-disciplinary environment. He is also an experienced member at BOD level of both Joint Venture entities and wholly-owned entities.

During Hugh’s career as a finance executive, he has gained broad M&A project experience in a variety of businesses and geographical regions within the world. This spans across numerous multi-million dollar deals, involving both the acquisition of companies and assets and the forming of Joint Ventures, but also with the exits/disposals of operations.

Hugh’s in-depth experience of M&A covers the full process, including target identification, due diligence, financial modelling, synergy planning, risk assessment, contract negotiations and post-acquisition integration and assessment of post-acquisition ‘lessons learned’.

Hugh’s success is evidenced by delivering on exceptional multimillion dollar profitable growth through large investment projects, operational management and effective implementation of structural change. He excels at aligning core business, revenue, and earnings growth goals to enhance performance.

Sharon is an experienced part time Finance Director with a career across a variety of sectors including Digital Publishing, Digital Advertising, Investment Banking, Hotels and Leisure and Travel.  She possesses a broadly based business and finance background and is FCCA and MBA qualified.

Sharon has worked both for large corporations and small and medium sized businesses where she has gained knowledge and experience in all types of settings.  She has a wide range of capabilities across these businesses and has supported them in their activities including running their finance departments, analysing new business opportunities and assisting with preparation for sale.
 
Most recently, Sharon has been working with SME digital businesses as a part time Finance Director, where she is an integral part of the management team taking an active role in financial and commercial management.

Colin is an Angel Investor and part time Financial Director.
Colin has been FD for over thirty companies in a broad range of industries.
Experience ranges from to multi-billion pound quoted companies such as Macrovision, Lotus, BAe Systems and NTT, to having worked with over a dozen start-ups.
Chartered Accountant, qualifying with Deloitte.
A lazy triathlete and a golfer.

Marcus is a strategic, commercially minded business leader with a passion for innovation and change. He has gained extensive experience from his time working with NasDaq 250 and FTSE 100 companies in the digital, creative and marketing services, retail, eCommerce and financial services sectors.

Throughout his career, Marcus has led successful change implementation programs including extensive and complex financial systems, regulatory compliance programs and business reorganisation activities. He is fully conversant with International Accounting Standards, ISO compliance, Basel, Sarbanes-Oxley and multiple ERP implementations.

Marcus has led multiregional teams across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific and his infectious enthusiasm makes him an ideal fit for entrepreneurially minded environments. 

Most recently he has successfully listed a start-up on AIM and secured a Series B investment round for a boutique marketing and communications business in the healthcare sector. 

Stephen is an experienced, versatile finance, commercial and operational director with a history of shaping and driving strategic growth through businesses both big and small.

Stephen qualified as an accountant working across SMEs with Smith & Williamson, before moving into Industry where he spent 14 years working in all aspects of the Real Estate Cycle with JLL. He has proven his track record throughout his career, managing successfully both in downturns and as a start up - establishing the Corporate offering for JLL across EMEA - building it into a Billion $ business with strong annuity revenues. He designed and implemented new operating models, integrated multi million pound acquisitions, transformed under-performing business areas & contracts and provided commercial & financial leadership across all new and existing corporate contracts.

Most recently Stephen has moved into running his own property development business where he has navigated the turbulent impact of Brexit and Covid, ensuring the business is right sized and positioned on sound financial footings for the future. Working in both corporate and principal owner environments has made Stephen an entrepreneurial and risk aware decision maker.

Alun has over 30 years’ business and management experience in organisations large and small, ranging from PLCs to SMEs,  including as Founder of his own business for the past 20 years. 

Highlights of his career to date  include out of home food service and the coffee industry, where he built a business from scratch to over £2 Million revenue.

Working with brands such as Cadbury, Nestle and Lavazza, he successfully developed end user business models to leverage these relationships and deliver excellent products and service consistently.

Alun has first hand knowledge on structuring SME finances, with experience in raising funds, both debt and equity and the implementation of various debtor and asset finance packages.

Very adept at setting up and developing control systems, Alun has direct experience of the main SME accounting packages of SAGE 50 and 200 and Xero, utilising their functionality to steer strategic growth and profitability, supported by excellent performance management . and business modelling techniques.

A veteran MBA by background, Alun’s experience is underpinned with  solid academic credentials  majoring in Marketing and financial management.. 

Arina brings diverse hands-on experience in a wide variety of finance leadership roles in sectors including food ingredients, electronic components manufacturing and logistics.

She has led international teams in small, medium and large companies, both private and listed, managing workstreams related to Commercial and Operational Finance and Treasury.

Through partnering with business leaders, she has driven growth and financial performance improvement using careful consideration of core business needs and formulating a structured strategic direction.

Arina has extensive experience in M&A (both buy and sell) with her ability to translate business ideas into financial language and back being instrumental in establishing close partnerships with Commercial, Procurement and Operations teams, supporting and guiding them through substantial organisational and business changes.

Arina is especially conversant with driving pricing and cost optimisation initiatives, bringing focus to longer-term objectives and ways to achieve them. She follows a highly pragmatic and common-sense approach, and spots opportunities with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Bobby is a dynamic and hands-on Finance & Operations Director, with over 25 years experience in senior roles. He has a proven track record in both SMEs and multinational corporations with experience that spans multiple sectors, including FinTech, Data, E-commerce and Consumer Electronics.

Bobby's extensive experience encompasses all aspects of financial planning and management. He is a hands-on problem solver, adept at identifying inefficiencies across a company’s financial, commercial, and operational processes, and implementing practical solutions to foster sustainable growth. His success as a business leader is evident in his ability to deliver overall business strategy for SMEs and their entrepreneurial leadership teams. 

Bobby has managed the challenges of rapid scale-up, overseeing employee base growth from 10 to 180 people across multiple locations. 

Bobby has executed four successful business exits, the most recent being a £98M (12X Revenue) cash sale to a US-listed business, taking it from pre-revenue to exit within six years. This M&A experience has provided him with invaluable insights into preparing a business for sale and managing the due diligence process essential for funding or sale transactions.

Colin is an experienced commercial leader with broad sector experience including information businesses, management consulting, law firms, higher education, and auction houses. Most of his roles have been in people-centred businesses, working internationally to grow, integrate, develop and improve operational efficiency. 

He has held senior roles involving organisational and unit strategy, go-to-market approaches, new product and market entry, functional due diligence for acquisitions, operations and financial management, new technology creation and adoption (including disruptive tech).  

His working style is hands-on with an approachable and down to earth attitude that is pragmatic and commercial in approach. He enjoys getting the best engagement from people through effective discussion, coaching and mentoring of talent. 

Most recently he has been involved in creating a go-to-market strategy for a law firm, sourcing and championing the adoption of AI/machine learning tech, due diligence on and the subsequent integration of new teams, businesses and countries into legacy businesses and the creation of ways for people to collaborate effectively with each other to drive new business opportunities.

He has an MBA from Cranfield as well as Chartered Institute of Marketing and Association of Project Management postgraduate qualifications. 

Richard has over 30 years leadership experience as senior finance professional in the UK and US, originally within US Investment banks, including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers. More recently Richard has been working in the SME sector where he has performed both COO and CFO roles.

He has demonstrated through his work at large and small organizations his ability to navigate from specialist technical roles at large organizations to more general roles often required at SME’s. This has given an excellent perspective and he can operate at both the detailed and strategic level or put another way, being as comfortable in the boardroom as the coal face.

Having qualified as an accountant 30 years ago and his progression through junior finance roles to senior CFO roles, with a mixture of operational and project management roles along the journey, he has excellent experience to draw on to help your business achieve your ambitions.. 

Richard has a passion for helping and watching people and businesses grow, and looks forward to assisting you build your business.

Stuart is a much respected and experienced leader with extensive experience in strategy, finance, sales, product development, supply chain management, and marketing.

Initially qualifying as a  Chartered Accountant, his career to date has included a broad range of senior roles including FD, MD and CEO positions, from which he has led transformations and innovations to improve product quality, brand identity, customer satisfaction, sales performance and organisational efficiency. His strategies have led to global growth and record profitability levels, earning critical acclaim and industry awards whilst becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Stuart's unique combination of strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and creative problem-solving makes him an ideal choice for businesses looking for a dynamic and principled leader to help them grow and thrive. He provides valuable strategic guidance, creates purposeful strategies and offers actionable insights to help businesses achieve their goals.

Ian is a highly experienced Director with a proven track record in business leadership, strategic planning and people development. He has consistently delivered significant value across a wide range of industries and business sizes, both in the UK and internationally.

Although undoubtedly a generalist, his experience includes manufacturing, logistics and asset / financial services, along with the education, learning and skills sector. Most recently, he led the successful global launch of a market leading top-tier motor racing product.

Ian combines determination with a collaborative and engaging approach. His passion lies in sharing extensive practical knowledge and experience, showcasing genuine understanding of challenges faced at all levels of organisations. This was particularly evident during his 15 years as Chairman of an SME engineering skills training organisation.

James is a senior Finance Executive with significant experience in improving business performance and results. He has an in-depth knowledge of the Construction and Service Industry having spent many years working for Otis Lifts and Chubb Fire & Security, identifying opportunities for revenue expansion and efficiencies and implementing the practical steps to deliver on the changes needed. More recently he has worked in the Gaming Industry managing the integration of the EMEA Zynga entities into their new parent company TakeTwo.

With the acquisitive nature of the businesses he has worked for, he has a wealth of experience in M&A in both due diligence and the onboarding and integration of newly acquired businesses.

Thriving on a challenge, motivated by making a difference, and fully understanding that a “one size fits all” solution is not right, he has a thorough but pragmatic approach, collaborating with stakeholders to deliver lasting changes to improve results.

Jerry is a highly experienced tech entrepreneur who has worked over the last 25 years in a variety of senior technical roles including SVP of Engineering, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Software Architect. Jerry has led the conception, development and implementation of software and solutions that delivered transformational change for some of the world's most recognised brands including Nike, Shell, Walmart, Tesco and Starbucks.

Jerry has deep expertise in software technologies and how they can benefit businesses by:

• Reducing costs and inefficiency through better use of automation and connected systems
• Driving better decisions and processes with data analytics and AI
• Setting and evolving technical strategy to continually improve business performance and maximise return on investment

Jerry is a strong communicator, adept at explaining complex technical concepts simply and with relevance to a specific audience. 

Most recently, Jerry co-founded an enterprise focused, SaaS business that grew into a market leading, global organisation before a successful sale and exit.

Jonty is a seasoned entrepreneur having owned and run successful consumer focused businesses gaining extensive experience in manufacturing, the start-up process, fast growth and building brands.

Over 11 years he founded, owned and ran Burts Potato Chips, a successful consumer brand,  manufacturer and high growth business, operating in an incredibly competitive market-place. He successfully exited in 2012.

He then set up and ran Portlebay Popcorn, another manufacturing consumer brand, gaining fast traction in the multiples and building another successful FMCG brand, before selling the business in 2018.

Jonty is equally at home advising on processes, systems and distribution, as he is securing investment, managing growth and selling businesses. He now uses this experience to pass on the lessons he has learnt.