Spark Who's who? The Spark panel John Montague Nigel Kershaw Maff Potts Philip Wright Damian Southworth Douglas Johnson-Poensgen David Seviour OBE Timothy Campbell
- Chief executive, The TREES Group (Spark partner)
TREES was founded to create employment, training opportunities, local services and wealth in deprived communities across the midlands, while supporting community regeneration throughout the region. The TREES group includes four businesses that operate in a range of commercial and social sectors – from conferences and construction to gas services and landscape gardening. John is well-known for his hands-on management style, and he is passionate about using business development to provide training and employment opportunities for all, irrespective of present or past circumstance. He is currently working with six Development Trust associations in Wales to develop “Build Wales” to maximise community benefit through the Welsh Housing Quality Standards investment. With a proven record in business development and delivery John also holds non-executive roles on: Building Safety Group, a not-for-profit company providing professional safety advice and inspection to 300 companies, Community Action Network (Leicester) Ltd, a social enterprise delivering support and advice for developing social economy companies, and Apex, a charity which works with ex-offenders and the NEET group. John has also been instrumental in organising TREES sponsorship for national charities such as Steps, which offers specialist help to children with motor disorders, as well as supporting smaller local organisations. He has developed strong links with local schools and colleges and is a regular speaker at specialist conferences.
- Chief executive, Big Issue Invest (Spark partner) Nigel Kershaw, one of the UK’s most high-profile third sector campaigners, is best known for his role as executive chairman of The Big Issue. In that role he has responsibility for the magazine‘s publishing operations, as well as developing its new social businesses in the UK and the USA. In 2005, The Big Issue's UK editions generated £12 million in cover sales with approximately £7m going directly to homeless and vulnerably-housed vendors. His latest project is Big Issue Invest, a specialist finance company for social enterprises. It was founded in 2005 after raising £3.5m from, among other sources, the Government and Halifax Bank of Scotland. Big Issue Invest provides loans of between £50,000 and £500,000 to social enterprises such as Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen and Belu, the first bottled water company in the UK to use compostable bottles. Earlier in the year The Guardian’s Alison Benjamin quoted Nigel saying “Big Issue Invest differs from a social bank in that it lends money in a more creative way.... With Belu, for example, instead of loan repayments, [it] takes a royalty when the business has sold a certain number of bottles.” Nigel joined The Big Issue in 1995 and went on to become managing director. Previous to that, he worked as a consultant and project manager in the publishing and printing sector, taking major capital projects from conception to production. He has founded three printing and publishing companies. He trained as a lithographic printer and gained a Diploma at the London College of Printing. Nigel is also a director of the Social Enterprise Coalition and a director and advisor to a number of social enterprises. He has also been a non-executive director of a London borough‘s regeneration company, a trade union official and Chair of the Board of the London College of Communications (now London University of the Arts). Maff Potts - Specialist adviser on homelessness, Communities and Local Government Maff Potts is currently a specialist adviser for the government on homelessness and managed two successive programmes for building and refurbishing centres for homeless people in England totalling £90m (2005-2008) and £70m (2008-2011). These programmes aim to make homelessness centres "Places of Change" where accommodation is linked to activity, education and employment. Prior to this he worked for "Crisis", the single homeless charity, running a variety of projects including their activity centre, "Crisis Skylight", in London's east end and also the "Crisis Open Christmas" event, which in 2004 secured the use of the Millennium Dome for free to provide shelter for 1500 people. Prior to this Maff volunteered in shelters for homeless drinkers whilst running a production company, producing and directing commercials. He's a semi-professional jazz piano player and has a band called the "Organ Grinders" which aims to increase awareness of the organ donor register.
- Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Philip led the firm’s European and then Global Corporate Finance & Recovery business with US$1.1 billion revenue, 580 partners and 5,500 staff between 1997 and 2003. He has a strong background in corporate finance and shareholder value. Philip has worked extensively in many countries, including Japan, Australia, Hungary and Germany, where he lived and led the CFR business for four years from 1990 to 1994. He is the author of a book “In Search of Shareholder Value” (1997).
- Group commercial director, Places for People
Early in his career he studied accountancy with the New Towns Industry where he exercised appraisal and budgetary control over multi-million pound mixed use capital programmes. During his time with the Group he has set up a new commercial subsidiary called Blueroom Properties - a highly successful residential investment company which in the first four years of operation invested more than £120 million in the private rental sector. Damian is a regular commentator on housing and regeneration issues in the media and on the industry circuit. He is now Commercial Director at Places for People, where his brief is to support and guide regional development teams to help achieve the Group’s social and commercial objectives of delivering mixed-use, mixed-income communities that are sustainable, prosperous and places where people want to live, work and play.
- Director, Strategy & Transformation, BT Public Sector
Before joining BT, Doug was a Divisional Director in Serco, the public services outsourcing group, which he joined form PA Consulting Group where he was a partner. Prior to entering management consultancy, he served in the British Army. He has also recently been appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of a small plc. Outside work, he is a keen rower and photographer. David Seviour OBE - Principal consultant, DAS Housing and Regeneration Agency Respected as a leading authority and commentator on community regeneration and housing issues, David has Chaired Meden Valley Making Places Ltd, (a Special Purpose Vehicle set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for regeneration in the former coalfields), represented LHA as the Accountable Body for the resident-led New Deal for Communities regeneration programme in Braunstone, Leicester, and is a Board Member of Leicester Regeneration Company. During 2004 he was invited to attend advisory meetings at the Treasury (hostels and homelessness) and No 10 Downing Street (social enterprise). And immediately prior to his retirement from LHA in January 2006 he was appointed Chair of the failing ‘Urban Living’, the Birmingham and Sandwell Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder set up by Communities and Local Government. He is a regular speaker for the media and at events, on issues ranging from housing policy and tenant participation, to equal opportunities. In 2006 he was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for “Services to Social Housing”. And in 2007 he attended Ministerial advisory discussions at Communities and Local Government and the Treasury on Housing Market Renewal, Regeneration, and the Sub-National Economic Regeneration Review.
While at Amstrad, he worked as the Project director of the Health & Beauty division. And when he left, Sir Alan said: “He has been a great asset to the company and I wish him the best of luck for the future. He was the right choice and I will be there to offer any help and guidance should he need it.” In 2007 Tim moved on to establish a social enterprise, The Bright Ideas Trust. The Trust gives budding young entrepreneurs access to finance, mentors and advisors to help them to start business ventures. It just over a year of trading, it has received both Government backing and praise from senior MPs. Tim is well respected within business and he regularly speaks to communities and institutions to promote an entrepreneurial culture and to motivate people, particularly the younger generation, to pursue their dreams. Tim is a Cabinet Office Social Enterprise Ambassador and a Child Ambassador for London and was appointed by Beverley Hughes, the Children’s Minister, to focus on the particular problems of the capital’s young people. Tim is also closely involved with the Jack Petchey Foundation, the ACLT, as well as an active supporter of the NSPCC, Learn Direct and Connexions. He is the face of the British Library’s campaign to promote their services and has been described as ‘the human face of business’ as one broadsheet newspaper referred to him. Tim was born in East London and he lives with his fiancée Jasmine and their six-year-old daughter Kayla.
Other faces
- Managing director, Eastside Consulting (Spark partner)
Richard formed the idea for Eastside after spending the early part of his career working as an equity analyst and in corporate finance for Salomon Smith Barney (now Citigroup), where he raised equity finance and advised on mergers and acquisitions for multi-nationals. When he left the City, Richard helped The Big Issue to plan for the development of a social investment arm, which became Big Issue Invest. In that role, he identified a gap in the market for a socially-focused advisory firm with strong finance and entrepreneurial credentials – and launched Eastside shortly after. Richard is passionate about working with inspirational individuals to address social and environmental problems through enterprise and innovation. He is a non-executive director of Big Issue Invest and a Trustee of Computer Aid International, a social enterprise which refurbishes computers for Africa. He regularly speaks to the press and at conferences on topics as broad as the fundraising challenges facing social enterprises and how to use commercial market forces for social good.
- Founder and editor-In-chief, The Big Issue
Since setting up The Big Issue magazine and The Big Issue Foundation to help the homeless help themselves some sixteen years ago, John has built a reputation as an inspirational motivation and achievement speaker. Among the places he has spoken are the UN in New York, Nairobi and Istanbul, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. The UN Scroll of Honour, an MBE and the 2005/6 Beacon Prize for Creative Giving are just three of the many accolades and awards he has received. Since the inception of The Big Issue in 1991, John has overseen its development into the UK's most successful social enterprise, stretching from Tokyo to Totnes and helping thousands of homeless people worldwide. John's latest venture is Wedge Card, a loyalty card aimed at revitalising the British high street. The card gives shoppers discounts at hundreds of independent businesses as well as raising money for local charities. His autobiography "Some Luck", published by Penguin tells the story of John’s lack of fortune, misfortune and his path out of a life of crime to ‘social engineering’. In March 2007 he took part to the Quick Reads campaign and wrote the best selling book ‘How to change your life in 7 steps’.
Iain Wright - Junior Housing Minister Iain Wright entered Parliament after being elected in a by-election in September 2004. Since entering Parliament he has been a member of the Public Accounts and Modernisation Standing Committees (2007), and Parliamentary Private Secretary to a health minister (2005-06). Iain is a chartered accountant and prior to being elected MP for Hartlepool, he worked as an accountant at OneNorthEast (a regional development agency) (2003-04), and at Deloitte & Touche (1996-2003). Iain studied History at University College London (BA 1994, MA 1995). Iain has been married to his wife Tiffiny since 1995. They have three sons and one daughter. He enjoys spending time with his family, history, listening to music, and watching football in his spare time. He is an avid supporter and season ticket holder of his local football team, Hartlepool United.
Patricia Hewitt - Member of Parliament for Leicester West Patricia Hewitt has been the Member of Parliament for Leicester West since 1997. She took over from Greville Janner (now Lord Janner) who served as MP for 27 years, following his father, Barnet Janner.
Terrie Alafat - Director of the Housing Strategy and Support Directorate Terrie Alafat’s academic background is in social policy and research. Before moving to the UK 20 years ago she was involved in educational research and evaluation in Chicago schools. Terrie began her career in the UK in social services policy development in a local authority and most recently was Director of Housing and Corporate Strategy in Kensington and Chelsea until 2002. She then moved to the Government Office for London with responsibility for housing and local government. She also had responsibility for a range of government programmes in the Thames Gateway. Terrie has been involved in a number of national projects covering housing and community care issues, and has helped develop London wide homelessness initiatives. She was also a member of the Mayor’s Housing Commission. Terrie has had responsibility for Homelessness and Supporting People since 2003. In October 2006, she became Director of Housing Strategy and Support for Communities and Local Government. |
|
John Montague
Nigel Kershaw
Philip Wright
Damian Southworth
Douglas Johnson-Poensgen 
Timothy Campbell
Richard Litchfield
John Bird