Atom Valley and Regional Growth: What It Means for Your Business (Rochdale & Oldham)

Nick is managing director and senior consultant at Clarity, specialists in inward investment marketing. He has more than two decades’ experience in inward investment/FDI attraction, a career which started with the promotion of Yorkshire’s Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP). Since establishing Clarity in 2012, Nick has worked with partners across the UK and in North America to successfully promote regions, industry clusters and strategic sites, including several, nationally significant advanced manufacturing and industrial sector projects.

I have over 25 years business development, coaching and management experience across all industry sectors, helping both start-up and established high-performing businesses with the potential for growth achieve their ambitions. I have provided specialist innovation support to SMEs across the North-West on numerous private/public funded growth programmes.

My current role as Innovation Advisor for GM Business Growth Hub is to support Greater Manchester based businesses to innovate and collaborate with local and National expertise.

Experience includes: working with clients on a range of innovation-led projects, including: proof of market/concept through to commercialising new products and services; developing an innovative culture and building the team/future team, intellectual property, improving and streamlining systems and processes to provide strong foundations for growth, new business generation techniques and innovative routes to market, coaching and mentoring senior management teams and business leaders

Richard is a vehicle finance specialist with more than two decades of experience working with the dealers, lenders and buyers at the heart of the prestige and specialist car market. As Business Development Manager for Premier 247, the prestige arm of Car Finance 247, he has developed a deep understanding of the products, providers and market forces shaping finance at the high-value end of the sector.

Richard has an in-depth understanding of the prestige finance market and puts the customer first in his dealings with dealers and finance providers alike. Within Premier 247, he has helped shape a prestige offering built to make finance for high-value cars simpler and more transparent, to connect buyers, dealers and finance providers through a single platform.

Amy is a chartered environmentalist with two decades experience working with the businesses at the heart of the net zero transition. She has an MSc in Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and has developed a deep understanding of the technologies and drivers that are shaping the business and skills agenda.

Amy has a unique understanding of the supply chain and advocates for the sector with buyers, local decision makers and national policy makers. Amy and her team have established Green Economy to improve the competitiveness of the supply chain, to overcome the market failures that prevent uptake of low carbon technology and to promote the businesses playing a key role in delivering the UK’s net zero ambition

Azeem Khan is one of the co founders of Gemini, who works in the FM sector providing facilities management. Azeem champions diversity and inclusion and will always try and help other businesses best he can.

Azeem has vast experience in the FM sector and has managed to grow his business who now has over 300 cleaning operatives working across the UK. Azeem knows it’s important to forge relationships and partnerships with likeminded businesses and work with the local communities.  Azeem has supported many local initiatives from working with local women centres, and social enterprises to help people get back into work.  As a business owner it’s always nice to give something back to your local communities. He is passionate about giving everyone an equal opportunity, whether that is in persona life  or business.