Member Spotlight: Darren Lowe, Managing Director – Crescent Purchasing Limited

Hi, I am Darren Lowe. I am the Managing Director of Crescent Purchasing Limited, a Salford based procurement charity.

Career highlight: Two spring to mind. Achieving my childhood wish of becoming a Managing Director, for the first time. A daunting and exciting experience mixed into one, but I was so proud to be able to call my dad and tell him ‘I had got the job’. My second would be having the opportunity to surprise my parents with a cheque to help them fund some work they wanted to do on their house, following the sale of a business I had some shares in.

Name three words that describe your personality: Approachable, empathetic, authentic

What’s the best thing about pro-manchester? For me it is the scope of events which you never knew you needed. I have attended several events purely for the networking opportunities but left with numerous takeaways from event discussions, which has enabled me to challenge and question my thinking and review workplace practices within the organisation.

What are your priorities for 2024?I want to raise the profile of the charity and grow our portfolio of connections within the Manchester business community, to explore mutual benefits. The Pro-Manchester network has proven to be an effective enabler to meet new contacts from a wide range of industry experts whilst sharing knowledge and best practice.

What do you think are the most important things going on in Manchester at the moment?I do worry about the level of homelessness in Greater Manchester. In 2023 I along with some colleagues volunteered at the Booth Centre and got the opportunity to speak to a few people who are affected by homelessness, which had a profound impact on me. I have since setup a food donation point in the office and taken several deliveries to the centre. I also volunteered for a day with Lifeshare, a Pro-Manchester member where I used my business skills, along with other professionals to help them consider ways in which to improve some of the challenges the charity faces.

On a separate matter, I recently attended a lunchtime Pro-Manchester event and as I walked onto Deansgate I was staggered by the silence and lack of people and cars on the street. Deansgate was once a bustling hive of activity 7 days a week, I worry the increase in agile working practices which many people have adopted since the pandemic is having a detrimental effect on city centre businesses and beyond.

Hopefully, I am wrong.

Favourite meeting place in Manchester: I guess it would depend on who I was meeting, but two places I have enjoyed for both business and pleasure are the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and Dakota Hotel. The beauty of Manchester City centre is the vast choice of places to meet so I generally like to sample different places.

What types of business would you like to meet? I would like to form a Pro-Manchester committee for charities, so common challenges can be shared, explored and hopefully resolved through knowledge sharing and collaboration. The Pro-Manchester members outside of charities will no doubt have expertise to help support Greater Manchester charities be the best they can be.

I would also welcome conversations with any Pro-Manchester members who was looking for a charity to support which is enhancing teaching and learning across the education sector daily, through procurement.

Get In Touch

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07525 124 689

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lowedarren