Striking out alone in 2008, David founded Because Brands Matter, a company geared towards helping clients establish themselves as brands by unlocking their core proposition, delivering their marketing strategy and ensuring effective creative communications. Underneath this umbrella David has a number of retained clients including Border Biscuits Ltd where David is Marketing Director and Brand Impact Merchandising where he is a Non Exec Director. David is able to augment these management advisory roles by providing creative work which is still winning creative awards today.

As well as being a Marketing Mentor for Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and The Marketing Society, David is also a Board Director of The Edinburgh International Film Festival and sits on the Friends Council of The National Galleries of Scotland. With 25 years experience in the industry David is regularly asked to speak at business events and write articles on the subject of Brand Building and Effective Marketing.

PETER FOSTER

Peter Foster has 25 years experience in market analysis and consultancy in the ICT sector at product, business and corporate levels.  He is a partner with Market Focus, where his focus has been on the software and IT services sector, with a particular emphasis on the public sector vertical, and also the telecoms/media market, particularly where IT and telecoms converge.  In addition, since 2007 he has also been researching the impact of environmental issues on the ICT market.

Before re-joining Market Focus in 2005, Peter was Managing Director of Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) Limited, the UK arm of the software and IT services research and consultancy group.  He joined the company in 2002 to set up the UK office.  Whilst with PAC he was a contributor to the company’s information and analysis service, produced PAC’s UK Public Sector and Telecoms market reports and was responsible for all custom research and consultancy in the UK. Prior to joining PAC, Peter was a Principal Consultant with Ovum, having joined with the acquisition of Richard Holway Ltd.; He worked on the Holway Report (subsequently Holway@Ovum), an analysis of the corporate activities of UK software and IT services companies, and was also responsible for all custom/consultancy projects related to the market and players

Before his time with Holway, Peter had been a partner with Market Focus for 10 years, working with IT, telecoms and other high tech organisations on a variety of research-based projects.  This followed increasingly senior market research and marketing roles with high tech and business-to-business companies.

SASKIA JORDAN

An experienced media strategist, Saskia has worked across all media, predominantly in the commercial TV market.  Saskia has expertise in business strategy, research, consumer insight, and facilitation.  

Prior to consulting Saskia was Head of Strategic Projects at UKTV (a BBC Worldwide/Virgin owned pay TV network) where she led the strategic planning for the business, the assessment of emerging markets and the research department.   Previous positions include Director of Business Development at BBC Worldwide and Media Director positions in advertising agencies (McCann Erickson, Starcom, Zenith, Mediaedge:cia).  Her experience ranges across all media and industries; she has been responsible for clients such as Coca-Cola; Procter and Gamble; BT; and NatWest.

Saskia was on the UK board at BBC Worldwide and was responsible for the business strategy and research departments.  She was involved in developing the BBC Shop web application and subsequently at UKTV led the investment strategy for their lifestyle websites.  Saskia spent three years working in Sydney where she ran the Coca-Cola South Pacific media account at McCann Erickson.  She won the ‘Best Use of Television’ in the Australian Media Awards, 1998.

Saskia has an MA in English Literature from Cambridge University.

LARRAINE CORBELLI-WITHEY

Larraine is an experienced Business Development Consultant with a proven track record of success in blue chip Digital Media, Web based and Telecommunications environments. Providing high-level consultancy advice building consistently improved business performances through strong leadership, strategic planning & business development expertise. Larraine is results orientated & quality focused, with excellent relationship management skills.

She is a pro-active leader, empowering staff to take ownership, providing coaching and mentoring to build cohesive teams working together to achieve individual targets and company objectives.

Larraine has been responsible for the development of a visionary, innovative internet domain name registration company, established a new media division of IPcenta achieving set targets & subsequent NASDAQ floatation and introducing an integrated marketing solution to Moonfish doubling sales to £3 million in 2 years. Most recently she has developed a new lead generation system achieving lead revenue of over £800k in the first 6 months. She is experienced in business development consultancy, marketing management, PR strategy, client relationship management, budget management, promotional management, key account development, P&L, presentation skills, coaching & mentoring, sales team management, global communications.

TUNDE COCKSHOT

Tunde is an IT creative professional, experienced creative thinker experienced in creative concept generation, pitching, problem solving and strategic thinking.  He has expertise in e-learning concept generation, design and workflow.  As an articulate, resourceful, mature, hands-on leader he has the ability to quickly grasp core problems with an analytical and diversely inspired mind.  Expert knowledge and experience of: web development process, game design, Web 2.0, e-learning, e-marketing, knowledge management, interface design, usability, and accessibility.

Tunde has been working on projects for a variety of clients including Amaze Europe Ltd, Toyota Europe, Lexus Europe, BT, First Personal Injury and NetIDme. His work has included web strategy consultation , concept generation, user modelling, brand development, and user modelling.

HOLLY HESSON

Holly has extensive experience of working in senior strategic and operational contexts in complex multi-stakeholder environments across the public, private, academic and third sectors.  Her knowledge and expertise extends across the media, creative and digital industries sector; the skills, business support, innovation, knowledge transfer and economic development field; the regeneration, environment, housing and sustainable communities arena; marketing and PR; the service sector; retail; and national and international charities.

Clients include Media Training North West (now incorporated within Northwest Vision and Media), Manchester: Knowledge Capital, RENEW Northwest (now part of the Northwest Regional Development Agency), University of Salford, Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council, Creative Concern, Carlisle City Council, Northern Edge, Elevate East Lancashire and the Academy for Sustainable Communities (now part of the Homes and Communities Agency).

Prior to setting up her independent consultancy, Holly held senior management positions for Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the media industry; Manchester: Knowledge Capital, the strategic partnership driving innovation and economic transformation across the Manchester city-region; Groundwork, the national environmental regeneration organisation and MAG, the international landmine clearance charity.

STEPHEN GRIFFITHS

Stephen Griffiths has 15 years experience delivering business strategy and innovation (growth and turn-around) consultancy and advisory services, to the management and non-execs of global brands (such as BBC, Nokia, O2, BT, Metro Int.) and innovative start-ups (such as Velocix and Volantis), across the converging arena of media, Internet, IT and telecom.

He helps clients: turn-around business units, develop business strategy, identify and value new propositions, enter new markets, design business models, roadmap products, select vendors, etc.

His achievements include: advisory and due diligence for VC and private equity firms in UK, Asia and US; setting-up new business divisions for online agencies; creating Europe’s first cross-platform online portal and, cross-platform downloadable product; and, authoring strategic reports read by thousands of decision makers.

LINDA SUMMERS

Linda Summers is an experienced corporate development and marketing executive having worked in the telecoms, web, mobile content, broadcasting and digital media sectors in the UK, Europe and Asia. Working with market leaders including O2, Red Bee Media, BT and more recently Peel Media on the development of Mediacity:UK where she was employed as the Strategic Business Development Advisor responsible for the MediaCityUK proposition development, business development pipeline build for web, mobile and technology sectors, public sector partner relations and connectivity. Linda has extensive experience in strategy development and M&A, brand building, interactive marketing, managing customer and audience experiences, launching new products and developing new markets. Linda has been privileged to work on a number of ground breaking market initiatives including: the first live text vote for a TV programme (Big Brother), the UK's mobile broadcast television trial, the launch of Europe's first mobile music download service, the opening of digital media companies in China, India and Singapore, web TV and video-on-demand services and the build of the O2 brand.

NICK  JASPAN

Nick is an accomplished and respected entrepreneur within the professional services and publishing sectors. He is a high level networker and relationship builder, with a passion for innovation, creation of new businesses and services and identifying new market opportunities. He pioneered the UK's first free on-line grants information service, co-founded Newsco Publications in 1992, an MBO backed by 3i and founded CorpfinUK, a company monitoring corporate finance transactional data and its successor "eurodeals" which was sold in 2002 to the Belgian publishing company BVD and renamed ZEPHYR. He possesses strong leadership and an ability to bring together the right people and skills to grow and develop companies and organisations and is a strategic thinker, with a no-nonsense approach, yet with ability to relate and develop relationships at all levels within central and regional government and across the private sector.

JANEY de NORDWALL

After realising a niche in the computer games industry, Janey set up Silver Films in 1996 to service the games industry only. She successfully produced commercials, promos and live events including the International launch of Tomb Raider III and the game launch film of Omikron with David Bowie. Although Silver was becoming a very successful business with a great reputation, Janey felt that she needed to develop her instincts as a film producer so in 2000 she decided to focus her attention on raising investment into the company in order to produce three short films in three years. To sell equity of a production company to initially make short films with a view to producing feature films was an untried model but through the Business Angel network she was successful in securing 3 investors for 25% of Silver Films. Together with sponsorship deals and matched funding Janey went on to produce 3 highly acclaimed films and won the BAFTA for About A Girl in 2001 (a film that has been heralded as the most successful short film of all time) and was nominated for her second film Talking With Angels in 2003. Silver now holds an option for a book called Nalda Said that has been developed into a screenplay.  Janey is the lead writer of the script. In 2006, she developed a new business model for the company where a new commercial division would fund the development and production of short films and features. Janey decided to take on a Commercials Director as her business partner.

Silver Films found themselves in another successful and highly lucrative niche, this time shooting prestigious cars for Lexus and Toyota around the world proving their reputation through repeat business.

In yr 2007/08 Silver turned over £1m.  A small percentage of profits were spent on the production of another short film called Gardens With Red Roses.  This film is currently on the festival circuit and was premiered in the Boston Film Festival.  Once again, Janey has found another business opportunity which is being currently developed and, to test the market, she has given the film to the charity Action For Elder Abuse.  They are successfully using this powerful film as a tool to raise awareness, change policy and raise funding.  This model is now being rolled out to other charities and brands to produce more short films that can make a difference. This time, the films are funded through the corporate responsibility departments of socially aware brands and not via profits from Silver Films.