Rob Galkoff founded the business consultants ltd in 2007 and is a senior European business consultant and specialises in business, market entry, marketing, ecommerce and communications strategies. With 13 years experience in retail, entertainment, sports sponsorship and the catalogue/ecommerce industry at a senior level in the UK, USA, Japan, Middle East, France and Germany, Rob has an all-round grasp of running and marketing businesses of all sizes.

Rob's key level of expertise is his ability to go into a business and understand it quickly and then offer solutions to problems and ways to improve future strategy. Having worked for and presented to the main boards of International companies, he has the ability to be concise, to the point and get the job done.

Rob is a retail, ecommerce, marketing, operations, communications and acquisitions specialist. He has worked in different sized businesses from start up, sme, to FTSE100 and NASDAQ.

rob@thebusinessconsultants.co.uk

James Ward

Senior Specialist Consultant - Finance and Business Turnaround

A Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary with 12 years experience in practice (both UK & Southern Africa) and industry. James has held a number of finance director positions as well as commercial roles in industry.

James’ experience has been in a cross section of organisations from E-commerce start-ups to professional services FTSE100 organisations.  His key sectors include E-commerce & media, Energy & trading, Insurance brokerage, FSA regulatory, PFI / PPP bid management, South African business environment.

James’ strength lies in his capacity to quickly identify the key issues affecting an organisation and propose appropriate solutions.  His skill set includes an ability to manage working capital shortfalls, drive and motivate finance teams, unravel and advise on complex accounting issues and prepare boards for difficult strategic business decisions. 

He is most accustomed to working alongside venture capital and private equity providers.  James has also worked within regulated environments and led a team registering as a “Service Company” and “Arranger” with the Financial Services Authority.

James has an exceptional track record in turnaround assignments.

Ian Hammersley

Senior Specialist Consultant - Digital Marketing

Ian is a specialist in promoting products and services in the rich and dynamic online world of web 2.0. He focuses on not selling digital marketing components in isolation; what he actually does is help clients launch new products, tap into new markets, keep their customers loyal and collect vital consumer information.

Ian has successfully promoted products and services for B2B & B2C using SEO, PPC, email marketing, SMS technologies, on pack / instore promotions, viral campaigns, context networks, banners, e-coupons, widgets and blogging. Ian is a direct response emarketing specialist; who seamlessly links online activity with offline.

In 2007, Ian was instrumental in helping Comic Relief attract 30,000 more fundraisers utilising interactive SMS messaging. He took the UK’s top headset distributor’s online net sales from £400/month to an average of over £175,000/month. He helped the world’s largest brake manufacture communicate their brand globally with multilingual websites covering 35 countries. Through 12 months of successful digital campaigns using SMS, the web, and e-coupons he has introduced a previously unknown beer brand into the UK, gaining listings within every major supermarket.

Within the past 12 months, Ian has worked with Siemens, Comic Relief, BBC, Pilkington Glazing Plc, TMD Friction, Honeywell, Ubisoft, and Peroni.

Alan has been a chartered accountant for ten years. He spent 6 years in a top 10 international practice before joining a client for a project role in a commercial organisation. His experience covers a broad range of industries, including retail, media, charities and education and the service sector. He has particular experience with young growing companies and those companies undergoing structural change. His portfolio covers both small to medium companies in the SME market and multinational corporations.

After leaving practice as a senior audit manager, Alan became a senior member of the finance team of a London based management consultants. Here, his major achievement was managing and coordinating a ten-month project involving the reform of internal financial and project management systems. This process included systems review, software selection and development, implementation and change management.

Alan's main strengths lay in his analytical skills. He has extensive experience of system and control reviews which covers both internal audit (including Sarbanes-Oxley work) and SWOT analyses. His extensive computer programming skills have enabled him to develop powerful financial modelling tools for his clients. These include bespoke solutions for a range of clients' needs including business planning and capital raising.

Alan is a leader of people and he is able to manage and coach teams of people in an efficient and productive manner. Alan's financial technical skills enable him to identify and address the key issues facing his clients.