Experienced, able and passionate about changing local economies for the better. Meet Ngage’s talented leadership team
Passionate about building vibrant business communities and thriving local economies, Phillipa is the driving force behind Ngage. As our Chief Executive Officer, she has particular strengths in Finance, Partner Development, Governance and finding innovative approaches to growth.
Philippa is highly motivated to make the right things happen for businesses, staff, funders and stakeholders by listening to them, seeing the whole picture and joining up the dots at strategic and operational levels to achieve results. A great believer in openness, transparency and honesty, with a collaborative style, she has led Ngage through a period of radical change in the economic landscape.
As well as nurturing growth in the businesses we work with, Philippa has led our work on #NetZero and is an advocate of making decarbonisation relevant for SMEs. She also wholeheartedly believes in the effectiveness of Peer Learning and the power of Action Learning Sets to find solutions to challenging and complex issues.
Prior to joining Ngage in 2004, Philippa’s career included roles within both the private sector and the public sector and she ran her own business for 19 years. She is a board member of the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the Buckinghamshire Growth Hub.
Adrian specialises in identifying funding opportunities, developing the business case for new grant-led projects, submitting bid proposals and tenders and initiating our work with partners and stakeholders.
In the past 20 years, he has acquired over £50m from UK and EU funding sources to deliver business support contracts, projects, and programmes. These schemes have benefited a vast array of organisations from inspiring start-ups in the creative sector, to supporting innovation in SME manufacturing and carbon mitigation planning in the property sector.
Prior to joining Ngage, Adrian worked in project management in both the public and private sectors with a range of delivery agencies often on large-scale projects, and has deep experience of taking ideas from initial concept to workable outputs and subsequent mainstreaming. He has also worked with councils and the university sector.
Heather manages the delivery arm of Ngage’s wide-ranging business support programmes. Her implementation teams provide business advice, manage grant programmes, provide mentoring schemes and masterclasses, and offer impartial brokerage services to specialist support to help SMEs grow and thrive.
She also oversees Ngage's skills initiatives, including leadership and management programmes, organisational and individual needs analysis support, peer learning, and support for schools and colleges to inspire and prepare young people for the fast-changing world of work, providing strategic careers provision across the county to improve opportunities for young people.
An experienced Senior Manager, Heather is a master of detail and strategy, working closely with the Funding Acquisition Team to ensure our programmes are deliverable and fit for purpose. She represents Ngage in business support and skills-related matters at a strategic level with our partners in local and national government such as the Department for Education (DfE), Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), and Buckinghamshire Council.
Prior to her current role, Heather worked at senior management level for a range of businesses, from a small micro to a large national corporate, and also in an FE College.
Sarah is at the heart of Ngage’s data operations, delivering the management information and systems we need to measure and evidence the performance and impact of our programmes. Principally responsible for securing our Cyber Essentials accreditation, Sarah also ensures our systems are secure against cyber threats.
A key member of the senior management team, Sarah leads our IT and data operations team as well as having overall responsibility for human resources.
Operating behind the scenes, Sarah’s team is responsible for capturing and reporting on the key performance metrics which our delivery teams and funders need to evaluate the success of our projects. Providing management information across the organisation, Sarah’s data insights ensure our programmes remain on-track and compliant with contractual obligations, while the use of the latest CRM technologies provides crucial analytics for the Ngage marketing department.
An experienced Prince2 project manager, Sarah leads our digital change projects and has specialist strengths in business analysis, data management and governance, data migration and business intelligence. She also has experience running a small family business in canine care which provides valuable insights into the challenges facing SMEs.
Lynsey takes an experienced strategic eye to Ngage’s marketing operations providing direction, guidance and leadership in branding, communications, digital marketing, and events as well as the roll-out of our flagship business support programmes.
Lynsey specialises in developing marketing messaging and programmes which cut through to hard-to reach audiences and deliver genuine engagement such as the LEADER programme which has successfully supported rural communities since 2015. She has also overseen the growth in the membership of the Buckinghamshire Growth Hub from a meagre 200 to an impressive 10,000+
Prior to joining Ngage, Lynsey was Marketing Manager EMEA for the iconic consumer lifestyle brand, New Era. She holds a BA Hons degree in Media & Management from Leeds University and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Louise oversees Ngage’s marketing function and projects from website launches and marketing campaigns to planning and brand repositioning, and is passionate about finding new, innovative ways to promote Ngage projects in the UK and internationally.
Louise has over 15 years’ experience in brand management, marketing strategy, media and campaign planning for both small companies and well-known media, professional services, and leisure brands such as the BBC, NBC Universal, Warner Media, and Champneys Health Spa.
Louise has strong international marketing experience having worked in the US and managed brands and marketing activity across (EMEA) Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Will specialises in rural business support and funding programmes and has delivered rural grant funding schemes since 2010, facilitating over £9m in grant funding to businesses during this period. He has an in-depth knowledge of diversification with a particular interest in sustainable land management, food production and processing.
Prior to Ngage, Will worked in Economic Development and has an honours degree in City and Regional Planning. Having grown up in a farming environment, he maintains a passionate interest in all aspects of agriculture and rural life and is keen to ensure sustainable land management, food production and processing is prioritised in future economic policy.
Daniel is the Climate Change Programme Manager at Ngage, where he has worked for over five years. He leads a suite of environmental programmes focused on carbon mitigation, energy security, and the important transition to net zero within the business sector. Daniel has a proven track record in influencing the private, public and charity sectors, leading projects which lower carbon while reducing financial burdens.
Daniel has a first-class degree in Environmental Studies & International Business and has a deep-rooted passion for sustainability. Before joining Ngage in 2018, Daniel carved out a career as a consultant to the private sector. He has been a lobbyist for the US-based Citizen’s Climate Lobby and was chosen as the UK delegate to attend The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Conference in Shanghai in 2015.
Daniel is proud to serve as the Ambassador for the Environment for Heart of Bucks in a voluntary capacity.
Tom has spent much of his career studying the environment, with a BSc in Ecology and Environmental Management, and MSc in Climate Change and Sustainability. Knowing the challenges climate change poses, he decided to focus his career on helping with the solutions.
After working at a National Nature Reserve, Tom transferred his passion for wildlife to help businesses reduce their impact on the environment, by lowering their carbon emissions. A firm believer that businesses have a key role in the fight against climate change, Tom found his place as a Senior Project Officer on the Low Carbon Workspaces programme, delivering grant funding and energy advice to SMEs.
Mike helps businesses (usually SMEs) to calculate their carbon emissions and footprint, delivering accurate and reliable advice that helps them improve their sustainability and reduce the direct carbon emissions of their business, helping them on their journey to Net Zero
He was part of the Low Carbon Workspaces project team that worked alongside local councils/government as part of the ERDF funding scheme to support UK SMEs with carbon reduction projects through both grant funding and advice.
Mike has run multiple businesses over 15 years, including an FMCG sales and distribution company, a West End shoe retail business, a private catering company, and a CFL light distribution organisation based in the Middle East that helped reduce carbon emissions and load shedding. He also launched soft drink companies in both the UK and USA.
Jane manages the Ngage Growth Programme, which offers business advice and grants to SME businesses looking to improve their performance and profitability.
Leading our team of Business Advisors, Jane consults with industry stakeholders to ensure our proposition and range of services continues to meet client needs. She is responsible for delivering on the programme’s output targets for job creation, product launches, new start-ups, grants and business support, which in turn drive economic growth measures such as turnover, Gross Value Added (GVA) and productivity.
Jane holds a SFEDI qualification in Professional Business Support Services and is an experienced Commercial Director having worked for over 14 years at board-level in the professional services and educational supply sectors. Her specialist expertise is in product development, strategic planning, and supply chain management. To date, she has been responsible for driving revenue and profit growth for her SME businesses in excess of £15m and takes great pleasure in supporting other businesses to achieve similar results.
Adam is a chartered accountant, auditor, corporate finance specialist and experienced forensic accountant. Along with his fellow directors and partners, Adam owns and runs Harwood Hutton, a leading independent accountancy and business advisory practice in Beaconsfield.
After graduating from St John’s College, Cambridge, Adam spent 14 years with Deloitte in London before joining Harwood Hutton in 2004. He is a past board member of Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership and past Chair of the Network of Independent Forensic Accountants.
Over the course of the last 30 years, Adam has worked on accountancy, audit, corporate finance, forensic, and expert witness assignments across a range of small business clients, professional practices, financial services businesses, banks, major international clients and sovereign governments.
Adam has been involved with the local growth hub, Buckinghamshire Business First, since 2011, and is passionate about the economic development support provided by the many key programmes offered and administered by Ngage Solutions.
An Ngage board member since 2013, Adam brings to the table his experience of running and advising businesses, helping colleagues identify and address key issues for the business and those it serves through its programme of business support.
Prior to her current role, Deba was Dean of the School of Business from 2018-2021, overseeing the academic provision and student experience. She led its digital transformation in 2020/2021 to deal with the Covid crisis. Deba’s keen interest lies in enhancing the teaching and learning experience for students at all levels.
Born in Kolkatta, India, Deba completed her undergraduate degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, before working in Sales and Marketing for The Oberoi Group, an international luxury hotel chain.
In 2000, Deba was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship and completed her Master’s degree in Service Management with distinction at The University of Buckingham. Deba then became a Research Associate at the university, researching the topic of student experiences in a Higher Education setting, before joining the Business School as a full-time lecturer in October 2002.
Deba’s areas of expertise are Service Management and Cross-cultural Management. During her time in Buckingham, Deba has held significant roles in programme and curriculum management and has initiated teaching-related projects across the university. She also has a keen interest in enhancing the university experience of students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Deba’s research interests lie in people and performance in a service setting. Her doctoral research explored how management practices influenced frontline employees in going the extra mile.
Henry is the Chief Executive of the Buckinghamshire Community Foundation, known as Heart of Bucks. This charity plays a leading role in the county’s voluntary sector, working with private individuals and businesses to advise on their philanthropic activity, and distribute grants to a wide range of charities and community groups.
As Chairman of the Bucks Strategic Funding Group, Henry is also involved in grant-making across a wide range of local issues.
He received a BA in Criminology from the University of Manchester, an MSc in Political Science from the University of Amsterdam, has a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Management, and is currently studying for an MBA. He is Trustee of the Thames Valley Partnership, and volunteers as an Enterprise Adviser for a Buckinghamshire secondary school.
Neil stepped down as Executive Director with Buckinghamshire Council in 2020. Now, he’s an independent strategic advisor to the public and private sector, focusing on vision and strategy development, change management, and executive leadership development.
Neil is a Past President of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), currently chairs their Live Labs Commissioning Board, and sits on their Economic Recovery & Renewal Task Force.
Passionate about nurturing talent, Neil supports existing and aspiring leaders to realise their potential through action learning and mentoring. He facilitates the successful ADEPT/Amey Excellence in Place Leadership Programme and ‘action mentors’ senior public and private sector executives.
In June 2021, Neil was appointed by the government as one of four independent Commissioners to oversee improvements at Liverpool City Council over the next three years.
Neil brings his extensive networks, national perspective, the experience of public/private sector collaboration, and passion for local economic growth to the Ngage Board. He joined the Ngage Board in 2012 as it transitioned into the sole ownership of Buckinghamshire Business First, serving as Board Chair between April 2012 and March 2020.
Passionate about building vibrant business communities and making decarbonisation relevant for SMEs, Phillipa is the driving force behind Ngage. As our Managing Director, she has particular strengths in partner development, governance and finding innovative approaches to growth.
Philippa is highly motivated to make the right things happen for businesses, staff and stakeholders by listening to them, seeing the whole picture and joining up the dots at strategic and operational levels to achieve results. A great believer in openness, transparency and honesty, with a collaborative style, she has led Ngage through a period of radical change in the economic landscape.
Philippa has led our work on #NetZero and is an advocate of making decarbonisation relevant for SMEs. She wholeheartedly believes in the effectiveness of Peer Learning and the power of Action Learning Sets to find solutions to challenging and complex issues.
Prior to joining Ngage in 2004 Philippa’s career included roles within both the private sector and the public sector and she ran her own business for 19 years. She is a board member of the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the Buckinghamshire Growth Hub.