< PreviousSUPER 60East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk20East Midlands Super 60 - Part 1: From X Factorto Westminster The idea of this list is not to featurethe CEOs of the East Midlands biggestcompanies - that story has been told.We feel there’s a need to celebratethose at the head of firms - or those upand comers - who are making a realdifference in the East Midlands -whatever the size of their business. Wetook into account entrepreneurialhistory, successes (and failures), futureimportant to the region - and evencharisma. Here, then, are the first 15.These are the innovators and theinfluential. Of course, this list - which isin no particular order - is subjective,and not at all the final word on who hasthe most clout throughout the region.So, if we’ve got it wrong, we’d love tohear why and who else should be in ourSuper 60...1. Tim Davis, CEO, Exco InTouchTim Davis, CEO of Exco InTouch wasnamed as one of the most influentialindividuals in the pharmaceuticalindustry, for 2013. Having co-foundedExco InTouch in 2004; his vision was toutilise mobile technology toWelcome to the first part of ourEast Midlands Super 60,sponsored by Ryley WealthManagement, Blusource andMazars.communicate with patients and remindthem of medication regimens, simplifythe process of clinical data capture anddevelop solutions to match the righttechnologies to the right patientpopulation. The ultimate goal was toimprove the health care experience forpatients and reduce their suffering byproviding support through every daytechnology. Capitalising on the globalexpansion of mobile technology, Davisled Exco InTouch to develop a two-waymessaging system which created thefirst ever mobile phone eDiary in 2005.Since its launch, Exco InTouch,based in Nottingham, has become theleading provider of patient engagementand data capture solutions for theClinical, Late Phase and mHealthindustries, around the world. Theorganization has won several awardsincluding ‘Best eBusiness/ IT strategy’at the European Outsourcing Awardsfor the last three years running (2010,2011, 2012).Having worked in partnership withglobal pharmaceutical giants such asAstra Zeneca and Pfizer, Davis is a well-regarded expert and thought-leader inthe clinical technology field andthroughout his career has taken anactive role within wider industry forumsdedicated to innovation and improvingpatient retention through technology.2. Tim Downing, partner, Pygott &Crone, serial entrepreneurDowning has over 25 yearsexperience in the UK and East Midlandsproperty and business community andis a senior partner with Pygott andCrone, the Lincolnshire propertyconsultancy, which has 10 officesacross the region. He is also involvedwith number of other business toinclude Hemswell Court , a LincolnshireAA 5 star Hotel and banqueting facility,and Downing Developments, acommercial and residential propertyinvestment company.nHe was recentlyappointed as chairman of AviationHeritage Lincolnshire and also as atrustee of LIVES Charity. He is afounding director of Lincuplive, a Socialmedia training and consultancybusiness. Downing also recentlyEAST MIDLANDSBUSINESS LINKSUPER 60www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 215. Sean Akins, managing director,BildurnResponsible for much of theredevelopment of Nottingham city centre,Akins is also part of the family whichowns Daybrook House Promotions, thecompay behind the successful Rock City,Rescue Rooms and Bodega Social barsand venues. He says he established theBildurn business as “a vehicle to positionthe group’s legacy property holdings andto fashion a leading development,management and investment company”.Akins is the vice-chairman of the Invest inNottingham Club and chairs the city’sRetail Forum which includes leasingagents, retailers and council officers.6. Lorraine Baggs, inward investmentmanager, Invest in NottinghamWhilst Nottingham may not see the biginward investment stories like Capital Oneand HMRC for a few years yet, Baggs hasworked hard with her team to secure asteady stream of companies moving intothe city. Incredibly hard-working, yetapproachable, Baggs quietly goes abouther business without airs or graces, andgets the Nottingham story out there. Oneof the unsung heroes of Nottingham’scontinued economic success.7. Peter Gadsby, serial entrepreneurGadsby built up businesses in theconstruction, house building andproperty development spearheaded byBirch. At its height Birch had a turnoverof £100m. In 2001 Gadsby sold Birch tobecame an ambassador for KlasInternational, working with wealthmanagement, commercial and residentialportfolio insurance and finance.3. John Forkin, managing director,Marketing Derby“If only we had a John Forkin.” We’veheard that so many times over the lastdecade. Forkin has revolutionised how tomarket a small city, and has seen Derbyemerge from the shadow on Leicesterand Nottingham to emerge a truepowerhouse on a national scale.Combining ceaseless energy with trueinnovation, Forkin and his team haveattracted inward investment on a scalethat larger cities could only dream of.4. Alan Hardy, chief executive,Paragon InteriorsA larger than life character, Hardycombines a maverick persona with ashrewd business brain. He’s the owner ofParagon Interiors Group Plc, a £50mturnover company which is the leadingUK specialist in contemporarycommercial interior design, build and fit-out, working for a number of blue chipclients, including Jaguar Land Rover,Adidas & Capita. When he’s not busydesigning interiors, Hardy runs and ownssix businesses in total – among them theNottinghamshire Golf and Country Cluband a talent management agency whichrepresents three former X-factorcontestants. He was last seen recording acharity single. Hardy’s motto is: “Better tolive one day as a tiger, than a thousandyears as a sheep.” Maverick indeed...21ÁTim DavisTim DowningJohn ForkinAlan HardySean AkinsLorraine BaggsSUPER 60East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk22the Miller Group (the largest privateproperty company in the country) for anundisclosed fee. He then formed the ArkCapital Group which includes Miller Birch,Radleigh Homes and various jointventures. Gadsby also had dalliances withDerby County, as is widely seen as one ofthe prime movers on the East Midlandsbusiness scene; he turns heads when hewalks into the room, let’s put it that way.8.Glenn Crocker, CEO, BioCityNot many can combine academia andbusiness, but Crocker has excelled. Hehas a first degree in Genetics and a D Philin Immunology. There’s more: hequalified as a chartered accountant withErnst & Young and worked in the lifescience practice for a number of years,advising a range of businesses as well asediting and coauthoring a number of thefirm’s US, European and Global LifeScience Reports.Crocker became CEO of BioCityNottingham in 2003, growing it to be oneof the largest bioscience incubators inEurope. He was a founder of R5Pharmaceuticals, which was subsequentlysold to Aesica, and he is a non-executivedirector of a number of other companiesincluding Mobius Life Sciences,Xenogesis and Medilink East Midlands.With BioCity set to expand again overthe next couple of years in Nottingham,Crocker is the indisputed king of the EastMidlands pharma and biosciences sector.9. Michelle Craven-Faulkner, partner,Geldards and vice-chair, Derby andDerbyshire Rail ForumWhilst Craven-Faulkner knows a lotabout trains, she’s no train spotter.Having recently moved from Nelsons toGeldards, she combines the day job asone of the leading commercial lawyers inthe East Midlands, with her role at theDerby and Derbyshire Rail Forum, apowerful group which has the ear of bothgovernment and local businesses. One towatch as the HS2 story unfolds in the EastMidlands.10. Nadeem Raza, managing director,MicroliseRaza is MD of Nottingham’s MicroliseGroup, which provides vehicle trackingsystems. Raza didn’t come straight in atthe top - he’s been around the block atMicrolise, and has worked in sales,systems integration, marketing,Sponsored byPeter GadsbyGlenn CrockerMichelleCraven-FaulknerNadeemRazaNicky MorganUrsula LidbetterSUPER 60www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 23operations and business computing. Hejoined in 1988 as a software engineer. Hegraduated from Newcastle University witha Bachelor of Science degree inmathematics and computing. Recently,Microlise signed a deal with Indian giantTATA Motors, which should see thecompany expand rapidly.11. Nicky Morgan, MP forLoughbourough and Secretary ofState for Educationorgan stood as the ConservativeCandidate for Loughborough at the 2005General Election and again in 2010, whenshe was elected to Parliament to beLoughborough’s voice in Westminster.She worked as a solicitor specialising inCorporate Law from 1994 until herelection in 2010. In July 2014 she becameSecretary of State for Education,succeeding Michael Gove. She is alsoMinister for Women, a role she has heldsince April 2014. A somewhat meteoricrise.12. Ursula Lidbetter, chairman, Co-operative Group and Lincolnshire LEPPerhaps the most importantbusinesswoman in Lincolnshire, Lidbettercombines a knack for timing with anappeal that goes far beyond theboardroom. She’s announced recentlythat she’ll step down as chair of thetroubled Co-op group once a suitablesuccessor is found, and under herleadership the Lincolnshire LEP continuesto make solid progress in a county sohuge that it could easily have fallen offthe rails.13. Sukhi Ghuman, founder, OctavianGroupGhuman gave up a law career to formOctavian Security in 2003. The companyexpanded quickly, both at home andoverseas, but was hit by a lack of financeduring the recession as the bank pulledthe plug. Ghuman bounced back helpedby a loan from a friend, and now thecompany operates all over the globe.Octavian’s headquarters are inNottingham, and it employs around 800people. Ghuman was part of a failed bidto buy Notts County in 2010, but is nowcommercial director of 20/20 Football inIndia.14.Tim Hastings, chief executive,Nelsons SolicitorsHastings was one of the foundingpartners of Nelsons was back in 1983, andwas its managing partner until 2003.Today, the firm has offices throughout theEast Midlands in Nottingham, Leicesterand Derby, and has been recognised bythe Legal 500 as a Regional Heavyweightfor the last eight years and isrecommended by them in 23 practiceareas. Nelsons is also recommended byChambers and Partners and features inThe Lawyer’s UK 200 Annual Report ofthe UK’s largest 200 law firms.15. Simon Gray, interim chiefexecutive, Nottingham MeansBusinessWhen Gray was made chief executiveof Nottingham Means Business in early2014 it was perhaps a surprise to some,but his experience of running recruitmentfirm Cherry Professional put him at thecoal face of East Midlands commerce.Gray has sold his share in Cherry, but hastaken to his role at Nottingham MeansBusiness like a duck to water, and hasprovided some much-needed dynamismto the organisation. File under: versatile.SukhiGhumanTimHastingsSimon GrayWEALTH MANAGEMENTEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk24How to find a greatfinancial plannerby Scott Gallacher, Rowley TurtonIn today’s difficult financial times it’snever been more important to make themost of money and as part of FinancialPlanning Week, Scott Gallacher adirector with Leicester based charteredfinancial planners Rowley Turton (IFA)gives his top seven tips on finding agreat financial planner.1. Independence MattersThere are two types of regulatedfinancial planner or adviser, Independentor Restricted.Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs)must consider all products and allproviders when making anyrecommendations; consequently byusing an IFA you should receive the verybest advice and the most appropriatesolution for you own particularcircumstances.Restricted advisers, as the namesuggests can have restrictions in eitherthe products or the providers they use;consequently you cannot be certain thatyou will always get the best deal ormost appropriate solution.Whilst all advisers must disclose theirstatus before giving you any specificadvice; their status does not have to bedisclosed on their website. This seemsto have created a situation where mostIFAs are naturally happy to promotetheir status on their website but manyRestricted advisers are less candid andtheir websites may talk about ‘impartialadvice’ or ‘leading providers’ rather thanhighlighting their Restricted status.Gallacher suggests the easiest way isfind an independent financial adviser isto use www.Vouchedfor.co.uk a ‘find anadviser’ site that only lists independentadvisers.achieve your goals, whilst at the sametime giving you the peace of mind thatyou are protecting you and your familyfrom financial disaster.Gallacher recommends you speak tothe financial planner / adviser personallyto understand their specific approachand whether or not that it fits with yourrequirements.4. Cost of AdviceProfessional financial advice is notcheap, however it should be viewed asmoney went spent. Research fromwww.unbiased.co.uk found that thosethat took advice saved more than twicethe amount than those that didn’t takeadvice and benefited from an additionalincome of £3,654 every year of theirretirement. (Source:https://www.unbiased.co.uk/value-of-advice )That said, all financial advisers /planners should fully disclose the cost oftheir advice to you in cash terms beforeyou are committed to taking theiradvice.Gallacher points out that by takingadvice from a professional, as opposedto your friend down the pub, you benefitfrom one of the world’s mostcomprehensive financial servicesregulation systems providing you withprotection and compensation in theunlikely event that you receive badadvice.5. Find an adviser sitesIn today’s internet age finding aprofessional adviser has never beeneasier with a number of find an advisersites available, however the main onesare:www.vouchedfor.co.uk – One of the2. QualificationsFortunately the days of someonebeing a window cleaner one day and anadviser the next are long gone. Now alladvisers must be Diploma qualified(equivalent to the first year Degreecourse).However, many advisers have gonemuch further than Diploma withChartered and Certified financialplanners being the ‘gold standard’qualifications.To gain their qualifications allfinancial advisers must take examscovering a wide range of financial areas;however if you require advise on aspecific area feel free to ask your adviserwhich specific exams they have passedto see whether or not they cover yourarea of concern.Bear in mind that some areas ofspecialist advice (Pension Transfers,Mortgages, Lifetime Mortgages andLong Term Care) require that the adviserhas passed specific exams in thoseareas and those without the relevantqualification cannot advise you on thatarea.3. Planners vs AdvisersTo some extent the terms financialplanner and financial adviser areinterchangeable and there is noregulatory difference.However, in practice true financialplanners advise on a wide range offinancial matters including investments,savings, pensions, retirement, protectionand long term care, but mostimportantly they bring all these adviceareas together for you within your ownpersonalised financial plan.This ensures that you receivecomprehensive advice on how best toWEALTH MANAGEMENTwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link25newer sites but importantly this onlyincluded Independent advisers, andhelpfully includes over 10,000genuine client reviews so you seewhat an adviser’s clients really sayabout them.www.unbiased.co.uk – One of thefirst such sites which has helpedover 5 million people find an adviserover the last decade.www.findanadviser.org - From thePersonal Finance Society, one of theleading professional bodies forfinancial advisers in the UK.6. Double check they’re genuine.Despite the UK having arguablyone of the best, and most heavilyregulated financial services industryin the world unfortunately somepeople still fall victims to financialscams from unauthorised advisers.Gallacher recommends you play itsafe by double checking that anyadviser is authorised by the UKregulator the Financial ConductAuthority. You can do this online byusing the Financial Services Registerhttp://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do7. Ask for free initial meeting.Having found one, or a couple offinancial planners that you feel maybe able to help you, feel free to askfor a free initial meeting to discussyour circumstances, how they canhelp you and discover whether ornot you that adviser is the right onefor you.SOCIAL SCENEEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk26RotheraDowson hostscasino nightNottingham law firm Rothera Dowson solicitors invited guests to a casinoevening at Alea Casino in Upper Parliament Street.Guests at the special networking event were given tuition in classic gamessuch as roulette, blackjack and poker before being presented with valuelesschips to ‘gamble’.Charles George, managing partner at Rothera Dowson, said: “We wanted ourclients and professional contacts to come together for an enjoyable, informalevent where they could chat and network while experiencing something new anda little different at the same time.”“Professional croupiers at the casino helped us to deliver a memorableevening and we’ve had lots of positive feedback from the guests who attended.“Even though they were only playing for fun and not real money, theexcitement of a night at the roulette wheel and card tables has proved a winner.Everyone enjoyed it.”SOCIAL SCENEwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 27ROUND TABLEwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 29How to be asuccessfulentrepreneurAs part of our East Midlands Super 60 series of articles,we pulled together a panel of the region’s mostsuccessful business owners and advisers to ask: how doyou go about being a good entrepreneur?Sponsors30 ÁAdrian Fern and Tim HastingsNext >