Richard is the main contact for MFBA. With over 30 years experience of business management, he has worked closely with a number of manufacturing and distribution companies. His main areas of experience and interest are customer relations and business efficiency.

Brian Light

With over 30 years experience in the Consumer Electronics Industry Brian’s expertise is in the Sales & Marketing of bringing ‘products to market’ through all channels of distribution; Retail, B2B, B2C, Wholesale/Distributors, Premium & Incentive Market, Direct Mail and E-Commerce.  

Harold Forbes

Harold took a pioneering degree in Technology and Business Studies and has extensive international and UK experience. His core skill are developing and implementing sales and marketing strategy.  He has particular strengths in understanding customers’ needs and developing multi channel approaches to serving them.

Stephen Hill

Stephen is a marketing expert with a long history of helping businesses grow. He holds a Masters degree in Marketing and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He has lived and worked in UK, US and Europe with some of the world's largest companies as well as some of the smallest. His areas of expertise are Marketing Strategy & Tactics, Marketing Plans, Implementation & Business Valuations.

John Fordham

John qualified in Business Studies and Marketing, and has extensive experience and success in large and small companies in sales, marketing, product development, general management, and company turnarounds. Success includes, as MD, turning around a loss making £2.0m manufacturing company into the 15th fastest growing engineering and manufacturing company in the UK, supplying top Blue Chip companies. Other experience in manufacturing has been in growing a company internationally from £5.0 to £25m in 5 years. Support, sales drives, marketing initiatives, and profit improvement activities for clients include companies in plastics, engineering, electronics, cartons, timber buildings, telecoms, hydraulics, and more.

Julie Brown

After graduating Julie started her career working for the BTR Group, both in the UK and Australia, covering all aspects of global marketing, sales forecasting and analysis and corporate integration strategy.  Whilst in Australia she joined the Sodexho Group, with primary responsibility for the introduction of their strategic planning process, but also heading up their media team responsible for communications during the Sydney 2000 Olympics.  Latterly Julie has worked in the Information Communications Technology sector for the DICOM Group, responsible for their sales and marketing and general management of their UK operations.  A Fellow of the RSA and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Julie now provides practical business support to the small to medium size enterprise sector.

Mel Loades

Mel has been working with SME's for over 18 years helping business turn round difficult (in some cases, almost hopeless) situations. Helped other fast growth companies avoid the pitfalls and dangers of such a strategy whilst keeping them on track to assist in achieving their goals and aims. Been able to assist business owners plan a successful exit or develop their business to suite their own aspirations, and assisted in the strategy of business owners being able to buy back a majority share in a business which they lost during a time of distress.