Experienced Part-Time Finance Directors

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.”

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.