Our team

Career

Alex joined the RAF as a Logistics Officer in 2006 as a fuels subject matter expert, having studied law at university. Postings at UK stations and overseas units gave him a wealth of experience in the fuels specialisation.

These included Officer Commanding Fuels for the Falkland Islands (with responsibility for Ascension Island), a detachment to an Army brigade in Germany, and a strategic fuels role in Afghanistan, where he controlled a $1bn budget and the international supply chain.

Back in the UK he was posted to the Fuel & Gas Safety Regulator, with direct responsibility to the Secretary of State for Defence for licensing 200 sites with multiple fuel installations.

On leaving the RAF in 2015 he founded a telecoms company and within a year was headhunted to TrueSpeed, joining as the fourth member of a team yet to raise investment. When he left two years later the company had grown to 60 people and raised £78m in four rounds.

Since then he has worked in start-ups in several capacities, co-founded an HR tech business, and is a NED to two growing companies.

Experience

• Senior UK Fuels Officer in Afghanistan · RAF
  Managed the liquid-fuel energy network for all British users across Afghanistan. Controlled a $1bn operating budget and delivered a multinational strategy of military and contractor support, maintaining operational capability during a particularly challenging time.
• Director of Business Development · TrueSpeed
  A role akin to Chief of Staff in a rapidly scaling company, across investment, infrastructure build, software service, commercial, marketing and sales, building process into the business.
• Co-Founder & COO · Sigma Polaris
  At the centre of every function of a scale-up software company: recruited staff, gained investment, developed the technology with outsourced partners and achieved international B2B sales. Successfully repositioned the company during the pandemic.

Qualifications and associations

• Chartered Manager and Fellow of the CMI
• Certificate in Company Direction, IoD (currently on the Chartered Director programme)
• BA (Hons) Law, Anglia Ruskin University
• BSc (Hons) Logistics Management, University of Lincoln
• MBA, Cranfield University
• SAF Technology Delivery Group, UK Jet Zero Council
• Member, MOD Aviation Fuels Committee
• NED to two scale-up companies
• DEI Ambassador, IoD South West
• Consultant, Cranfield Trust
• Trustee of two charities

Outside work

Running, squash, rock climbing, scuba diving, snowboarding, cider brewing, welding, dog walking and DIY. Enjoying the great outdoors and nature. “I really enjoy helping people.”

Career

Jason’s background is innovation in the infrastructure, energy and digital sectors, with over 20 years of programme leadership focused on commercial and digital transformation to support system transition.

His career began in technology through the highs and lows of the dot-com era, developing large-scale digital systems across industries.

He then spent four years in Armenia helping found businesses including micro-hydro generation and low-cost wide-area Wi-Fi networks.

In the UK he has led some of the country’s largest infrastructure and technology change programmes, working with international partners to procure innovative technology and new services.

Experience

• UK energy industry
  At the centre of the energy transition, Jason delivered the commercial model for Ofgem’s market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS) programme, using Scaled Agile (SAFe) to enable its performance measures and multi-party delivery.
• EV partnership
  Led an initiative to speed up electric vehicle adoption in the UK, bringing together leaders across energy production, distribution and retail to create a one-stop knowledge base for the industry.
• National Highways
  Senior programme manager defining and building the partnership to design and procure the next-generation traffic management systems that run England’s motorway network.

Qualifications and associations

• MBA, Bristol Business School
• BSc, Marist College, USA
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
• Chartered Manager (CMgr), Fellow of the CMI (FCMI)
• Member of the Association for Project Management (MAPM)
• Certified SAFe 5 Agilist (Scaled Agile)
• MoP® (AXELOS), PRINCE2 (APMG International), Prosci change management

Career

For more than a decade Michael has worked as a consultant, business owner and investor, specialising in bringing innovative products and businesses to market.

He set up and runs a portfolio of businesses: workspaces for industrial and commercial start-ups; a consultancy supporting product launches in pharma and healthcare; and a consultancy bringing forward products and projects for the global transition to net zero.

Before that he held positions at Frontier Economics, Warwick Business School and the National Economic Development Office.

Experience

• NYSE mid-tier pharmaceutical companies
  Supported a new product launch into the EU4 and UK, targeting $500m+ peak sales in a $4.5bn market, with competitive intelligence and advice on messaging, pricing and market access to accelerate adoption.
• European renewable electricity generator
  With the Institute for Environmental Analytics, improved decision support for investment, operations and trading by accounting in detail for climate and weather effects on electricity markets as they move towards net zero.
• Irish and UK airport authority
  Analysis and price-setting support for airport charges, underpinning airport and aviation expansion while ensuring airports earn an adequate return on their capital base.

Qualifications and associations

• MA and PhD in Economics, University of Reading
• Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce

Outside work

“I very much enjoy spending time outdoors, the history of places, art and architecture.”

Career

Russ gained his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Bath in 2014 and held a postdoctoral research position at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

In 2016 he took up a Marie Curie research fellowship at Swansea University.

Since 2018 he has been CEO and co-founder of Two Drifters Distillery, producing rum in the UK with a carbon-negative footprint.

In 2019 he founded RWC Carbon Consulting, focused on lifecycle assessments and greenhouse gas inventories for food and drink manufacturers.

Experience

• Two Drifters Distillery
  A constant desire to improve: striving for perfection in their rums, seeking out and implementing new or improved sustainable technologies, and inspiring others to be more sustainable.
• Swansea University
  Publications on carbon capture, storage and utilisation in leading peer-reviewed journals.
• Russ Wakeham Consultancy
  Measuring impact takes time, and you can’t reduce what you haven’t measured. RWC is all about measuring your impact.

Qualifications and associations

• PhD in Organic Chemistry
• Master of Research in Chemistry
• BSc (Hons) Chemistry
• Chartered Chemist, Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Member of the American Chemical Society
• Member of the Society of Chemical Industry

Outside work

“I love being on the water: kitesurfing, paddle boarding, sailing. It is the perfect place to clear my head, and gives me constant encouragement to protect what I love.”

Career

Helen is a marketing expert and experienced leader, with 25 years in the charity and commercial sectors, from start-ups to large corporates in aviation, automotive, rail, telecoms and tech.

For 14 years she was Head of Marketing for the Royal International Air Tattoo, giving her deep knowledge of, and connections in, commercial and military aviation and aerospace.

Her focus is comprehensive marketing strategy, using feedback, research and data to inform stakeholder engagement with purpose and impact. She now runs International Aviation & Airshow Marketing, building strategies for aerospace clients that incorporate STEM, sustainability and inclusivity.

Experience

• Head of Marketing, Air Tattoo · RAF Charitable Trust Enterprises
  Trading arm of the RAF Charitable Trust and home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, attracting 170,000 visitors a year. Developed and implemented a marketing strategy with a 2,700% ROI and ticket sell-outs four years running.
• Marketing Lead, tech start-up · Blinkbox
  Secured investment with no marketing budget. Products included a free music service sold to Tesco for £10.8 million and rebranded Blinkbox Music, an early competitor to Spotify.
• Founder & Director, marketing consultancy
  International Airshow Marketing helps airshow organisers, display participants, aerospace and defence companies and aviation charities build customer-led marketing strategies that generate income and inspire the next generation.

Qualifications and associations

• BA (Hons) Business & Marketing
• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing
• STEM UK Ambassador
• Board member, European Airshow Council, and its Sustainability Working Group
• Trustee, Flying Scholarships for Disabled People
• Member, International Council of Airshows; British Air Displays Association

Outside work

“As well as being an AvGeek, my go-to activity is walking, and I have hiked mountain trails all over the world. I have chaired a business networking group for six years, mentored RAF Air Cadets to Everest Base Camp, and ran the Chicago marathon for Whizz-Kidz.”

Career

Charles began in aerospace and systems engineering, leading requirements definition for a range of complex multi-million-pound procurement projects.

He moved into large, complex programme and change management, as industry lead for major public-sector change programmes in the air and maritime domains.

He co-founded Pointer Consultancy Group in 2018, delivering several successful multi-£m bids for clients and project-managing a range of technology demonstrator drone projects.

Experience

• Technical Project Manager
  Technical PM for a novel UAS technology demonstrator aiming for 10× cost and 5× time savings against current procurement, defining and executing delivery with a cross-functional team across three companies.
• Industry Programme Lead · Defence Equipment and Support
  Industry lead for a major (>£3m) change programme standardising how air safety is delivered in a large public-sector acquisition organisation, improving efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility.
• Industry Project Manager
  Delivered a joint organisational change programme establishing a joint Authority–Industry team with shared responsibility for a multi-£m equipment fleet, enabling cost savings and a sustainable enterprise.

Qualifications and associations

• Chartered Project Professional (ChPP)
• Member of the Association for Project Management (MAPM)
• MEng Aerospace Engineering with study in Continental Europe (ENSICA, France), University of Bristol

Outside work

Road cycling, mountain biking, sport climbing and snowboarding.

Career

Richard began his career in the RAF as an Engineer Officer, working on the C-130 Hercules, as a bomb disposal officer, and responsible for the E-3D AWACS engines and fuel systems.

After leaving the RAF in 2011 he moved into consulting in Australia, then joined Frazer-Nash Consultancy in the UK, leading high-profile projects including the team supporting DE&S in delivering the P-8 aircraft.

He co-founded Pointer in 2018 and has since held PM and change roles on large technical programmes, from multi-million to multi-billion pounds.

Experience

• Programme Manager & Technical Co-ordinator
  Led a team of technical experts (peaking above 50 people; contracts above £10m) supporting the DE&S P-8A Delivery Team across air engineering disciplines, providing a coherent technical solution to time and budget.
• Programme Change Management
  Provided programme and change expertise to achieve a Full Business Case (above £25m) for the ASPIRE programme, leading the change methodology from strategy to detailed implementation planning.
• Project Manager
  Brought in to recover a novel aerospace technology demonstrator from significant delay, leading it to a successful conclusion.

Qualifications and associations

• MEng Aeronautical Engineering, University of Bristol
• MBA, Cranfield University
• MSc Human Factors and Safety in Aeronautics, Cranfield University
• Chartered Engineer (CEng); Chartered Project Professional (ChPP)
• Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society (MRAeS)
• Member of the Association for Project Management (MAPM)

Outside work

“I volunteer as a charity management consultant with the Cranfield Trust and co-chair the governors at my local school. I play touch rugby, ski and enjoy cooking for friends.”