Managing Director – Manchester Energy Partnership Limited (MEPL-Dec 2018 – Present) Octagon Project Manchester (THE OPEN)Communications Director – Octagon Estates Limited (2015 – Present)The Octagon Project Manchester is an ambitious and exciting opportunity to help redevelop the original headquarters of Norweb / United Utilities - Octagon House. The site will provide access to 100,000 square feet of high specification refurbished office and potentially laboratory space at the heart of the City’s strategic Medical, Research and Technology Corridor, which will also benefit from locally generated power and heat via the Octagon Project Energy Network. The OPEN is a district energy network set to transform the energy market within the project area, reducing costs for public, commercial and domestic consumers, reducing fuel poverty in the inner city, whilst contributing significant reductions in carbon and helping the City meet its emissions targets.MEPL is a business wholly owned by Sustainable Energy Supplies Limited. The DEN works in support of Manchester City Council, the GMCA and central government Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. (BEIS). The project has secured significant BEIS support via HNIP, funding a £30m+ capital program. This is a huge opportunity for Manchester and key stakeholders within our project area seeking to decarbonise heat and electricity in the race to net zero in Greater Manchester. The OPEN is situated in the city's strategic Southern corridor. Home to Manchester University, MUFT (MRI and Hospital estates), and multiple medical, technical and research organisations that are flourishing in this important area of business development for the city. The district Energy network is intending to support over 2000 Social Hosing units in Ardwick and Brunswick with all offtakers residing within 4 square kilometres of the central generation hub at Hathersage Rd.Please visit www.octagonproject.co.uk for more information

ASA Network Limited was established in 2002, following the 2000 trade sale of Alan Stephens Associates Limited. Steve had established ASA Limited in 1987, growing it to be one of the most respected technology and retail specialist agencies in the UK, enjoying multi million pounds service revenues and a solid reputation for service excellence and outstanding results. After a 2-year stint on the acquiring PLC board Steve decided to return to core strengths of marketing and product development. A small team was re-established to develop the next generation of marketing solutions and seize the opportunity to continue to grow online skills and capabilities. Since then Steve has continued to support a number of clients with web sites and online marketing strategies, producing packaging and below the line collateral and advising in product design and development. ASA Network Limited brings over 34 years of experience, knowledge and industry contacts to a new generation of businesses looking to strengthen their management teams and their marketing effectiveness. ASA offers a dynamic blend of creative, management, production and technical services designed to support business clients and bring the results and commercial success they expect from investment in marketing. We run a small team of highly skilled and experienced marketers and through the ASA Network provide access to a wealth of knowledge and capability in every aspect of Marketing, Advertising, Media and Production"

Part of the ASA Network product development services. http://www.pedaldeck.com I have launched a new UK manufactured guitar effects pedal bard. I have personally designed the Pedal Deck to improve existing board designs with extended features and benefits for managing power supplies, cable management and supporting a wider range of effects on a single board. As a guitarist it was a labour of love over a 2 year development, but I discovered opportunities to not only improve the design of existing competitive product, but also through smarter manufacturing and production techniques, reduce the manufacturing costs so that we can build and distribute right here in the UK. I am a firm believer that Britain can compete as a manufacturing nation in many sectors and beat Chinese imported goods on quality and price through better design and cross industry collaboration. Pedal Deck is the result of ASA's UK Marketing and Product expertise working alongside Midlands based aerospace and automotive engineering specialists. Come on Britain... let's be great again and find 1000 more products that can be repatriated to UK manufacture and beat the imports from our shores! Interesting fact courtesy of the Guardian.. " A typical Container Ship sailing from China to Europe over the course of 1 year emits the same amount of pollutants in to the atmosphere as 50 million average family cars!"

Originally an ASA Network consultancy contract, my close involvement with JD Hughes Group PLC grew into a more permanent working relationship. I recruited a whole new Marketing, Digital Marketing and Data team and completed a full overhaul of the businesses sales CRM, MRP, CAD and Financial systems. I was delighted to have been invited to join and strengthen the Hughes Group Board in an Non Executive Director role with responsibilities for group marketing worldwide, (encompassing the USA, Canada, Europe and the Middle East) plus a continuing role in the deployment of new IT systems to support better communications and productivity.Working Closely with the wider board including Sales, Production and Finance and providing an independent and when required external viewpoint in support of Managing Director, Tony Hughes proved a successful business model for both myself and the client. Providing a cost effective solution to a key management position in the business and measurable results from my contribution in marketing, systems and strategy.Key to this appointment was steering the business owners exit, through the strengthening of business processes and the functional technology, systems and working practices deployed across the business to meet due diligence requirements for a business sale.The business was sold to American Multinational in 2016, providing a successful exit for the Hughes family and my tenure at Hughes was completed by April.

From original software concept developed by ASA in 2004 the award winning Intoscape Software and the it247.com business, experienced substantial and exponential growth in under two years, with the retail business running at £13m+ annualized revenue rate. Following the addition of third party and VC investors the retail business was sold in 2007 and the software business sold in 2010. This concluded my involvement as a director or investor in the project.Intoscape™ was a solution born from a detailed understanding of the commercial issues facing eCommerce dependent companies in the modern business era. Our experience in software development and supply chain management helped create alternative working practices for sales-driven, commodity dependent businesses where margin is tight, prices are volatile, product supply is unpredictable and customer service is paramount. These highly emotive descriptions captured the modern Internet, mail order or direct sales reseller business, where prices are expected to be low, customer service is demanded to be high and available margins are all too easily eroded by the expensive and previously unavoidable overhead of human resources. Intoscape was developed to meet and conquer the common challenges prevalent in eCommerce, simplifying business processes, streamlining customer experience and maximising margins and sales volumes whilst maintaining a sensible and sustainable investment in human resources.

IT247.com was the first of a new generation of ecommerce sites that used automated intelligence gathering of virtual stock from multiple supply sources simultaneously, whilst also monitoring competitive intelligence for price and margin deltas. Automated and dynamic pricing and publishing of rich content meant that catalogues of over 50,000 items could be product managed by just a couple of staff!The magic that made it all happen was Intoscape technology which was created by ASA in 2003/4 and developed with the help of VC and Private investment thereafter.

Alan Stephens Associates Limited was established in December 1987 and incorporated on Feb 29 1988. A full service advertising agency,which is credited with many success stories including the launch of Pets at Home retail stores in 1991 and the creation of SiteBuilder web site building software for small businesses in 1996. The company was acquired by a PLC in 2000 but returned to the private ownership of Steve Willock in 2002 where it remains today trading as ASA Network Limited, with interests in Marketing and Business Consultancy, Commercial Workspace and Studio space property management, Video Production and Sound Recording Services