Alastair Hamilton is a Chartered Director, with a successful senior executive career in both private and public sector. Alastair worked for BT for over 25 years, holding a number of executive positions, including MD for BT Major Business in Ireland before becoming Director of BT Health in London. In May 2007, Alastair was seconded for one year to work as Chief Economic & Business Adviser to the Northern Ireland First Minister. Having played an active role in the local business community in Northern Ireland for more than two decades and having served as Chair of Economic Affairs Committee of CBI NI and Vice President of NI Chamber of Commerce, it was no surprise to see his appointment as CEO of Invest NI in 2009. Delivering an agenda of change and resetting Invest NI’s ambition to attract Inward Investment and support local companies, Alastair delivered a 10 year period of growth and investment, despite the economic challenges of that time. Alastair is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland; he was the recipient of the Lunn’s Award of Excellence from the Institute of Directors in 2016 and was awarded UK Public Sector Director of the Year. In 2019, Alastair was delighted to receive an honorary DSc (Econ) degree from Queen’s University Belfast and was recognised with a CBE in the 2020 New Year Honours. Alastair was appointed to the Board of Danske Bank (UK) in May 2020 as an independent non-executive Director and in January 2021 was appointed as Chair of Pinnacle Growth Group.
SPECIALISMS: Customer Engagement and Satisfaction, Internationalisation, Business Governance
Robert is a Chartered Director, Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining. Twice IoD NI Director of the Year (2017 & 2019), Robert is an expert in international business, operational excellence and business growth. For over 15 years Robert has provided strategic direction and operational leadership to local, regional and international organisations. Graduating in both Engineering and Business, Robert combines technical ability with astute commercial awareness, providing clear and logical advice to support Pinnacle Growth Group’s many and varied clients.
SPECIALISMS: Financial analysis, projections and business planning
Scott is an award-winning business growth advisor, entrepreneur, investor, published author, lean practitioner and Chartered Engineer. For over 15 years Scott has worked and travelled across the globe providing direction, assistance and leadership to an ever-expanding list of multi-sectoral organisations, ranging from new start’s to SME’s and globally recognised brands. Scott utilises his library of accumulated knowledge and experience to provide a pragmatic approach to supporting organisations to achieve their vision and potential.
SPECIALISMS: Business improvement, strategy and collaborative network facilitation
David joined the Pinnacle network as an Associate in 2019, before joining the team on a full time basis as Lead Business and Trade Specialist in July 2020. In his current role, David provides bespoke solutions to business’ specific EU Exit related issues and trade concerns, and is currently undertaking a Level 4 Customs Practitioner Award through the Institute of Export and International Trade. David also brings to the team several years’ experience in conducting economic research and completing evaluations within a public sector context, and has secured over £1m of funding to support organisations’ growth and development ambitions.
SPECIALISMS: Brexit, customs and international trade
Thalia joined the Pinnacle team as the project manager of the company FastForm.Online. She has experience working in the real estate market and the corporate services sector, leading business development teams towards constant improvement. Also, her knowledge in stakeholder relationship, commercial management, market analysis, and business development contributes to her current role. In addition, Thalia is skilled in organizational and team performance analysis. Her capacity to adapt and respond to changing work situations and environments is a great asset to develop creative and innovative solutions.
SPECIALISMS: Commercial management and strategic analysis
Hannah is our Finance & Funding Specialist and works across many of our valued clients to support them in identifying and accessing grant funding and finance. She has over 10 years experience working with SME’s throughout the start-up stage and specialises in funding and start-up businesses. Hannah brings to the team experience of completing business and financial planning and has secured funding for clients through Invest NI and loan applications.
SPECIALISMS: Funding and start-up businesses
William is our Technical & Innovation Specialist and works to assist our valued clients to offer technical guidance to help deliver R&D projects. He has over 8 years’ experience working with in various engineering roles . He has led and participated in large scale organisation transformation projects aimed to maximise efficiencies and productivity to achieve business growth and key objectives. William brings to the team experience of R&D, planning, setting up and optimising manufacturing systems and demonstrating the link between operational and strategic development.
SPECIALISMS: R&D, product and operational development and lean manufacturing
Marcus is a Business and Trade specialist who has extensive knowledge in relation to International Trade & Customs, Finance, and International Supply Chain Management. He has experience supporting a wide range of organisations from SME’S to large multinational corporations based across the UK and Ireland in a wide range of industries including hospitality, construction, manufacturing and retail to help them manage their trade requirements. Marcus has completed Level 3 Customs Practitioner training through the Institute of Export and International Trade.
SPECIALISMS: Brexit, customs and international trade
Johnny is a business consultant currently supporting the Finance for Growth team. Joining Pinnacle Growth Group in 2019 following university, Johnny was assigned to the Trade and Export for Growth team and provided expert support on the EU Exit Process to clients across Ireland and has completed his Level 3 Certificate in International Trade. As part of the Finance for Growth team, Johnny has led the completion of applications for business supports from organisations such as InterTrade Ireland, Invest NI and Innovate UK for clients across the UK and Ireland, successfully supporting their strategic business growth targets within staffing, research and development, external trade and strategic planning.
SPECIALISMS: Strategic funding and public sector tendering
Katie joined the Pinnacle group as a Business Analyst in 2021. She has a First-Class Honors BA in English, and her excellent written communication, research, and analysis skills are of great value to the team. Katie’s skillset and sharp eye for detail supports both the Pinnacle team and clients with Invest NI and funding applications. She is currently working towards a Marketing MSc, and this will bring to the team a richer knowledge of digital communication, advertising, branding and creative solutions to marketing challenges.
SPECIALISMS: Public sector and promotional activities
Erin is a Communication, Management and Public Relations student at Ulster University. She has joined Pinnacle Growth Group working as our Marketing Assistant. Erin supports both the Pinnacle team and clients with marketing, communication and social media projects.
SPECIALISMS: Marketing
Described as “the best bid manager I have ever worked with” by the Ireland General Manager of a €1 billion corporation, Michael is a trusted consultant helping clients win proposals and tenders. With 20 years’ international experience, working across multiple sectors on contracts of up to £250M, he has helped land millions of pounds worth of deals. Many of his clients have built 100% annual win rates and he has coached even bid novices up to a 100% score (practically unheard of in proposal and tendering circles).
SPECIALISMS: Tenders
Breige is an experienced HR Consultant, providing independent and expert advice and support to organisations This includes advising management on the administration of human resources policies and procedures and analysing a company’s current HR programmes and recommending solutions. In addition, Breige is skilled in developing, revising, and implementing HR policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with best practice, laws and regulations, developing and coordinating workflow and resource changes, and delivering Human Resources training.
SPECIALISMS: HR
Gareth is a lean consultant with over 20 years of experience working in financial services, developing lean methodologies, and executing business growth strategies. He has worked across multiple sectors such as Financial Services, Manufacturing and Hospitality. Gareth engages with his client’s mission to support the achievement of objectives and goals by delivering business improvement initiatives in project analysis, implementation, and coaching and training programs to sustain business changes. His communication skills and determination are a great compound to provide guidance and expert advice on continuous business improvement, problem-solving, customer experience, and business analysis.
SPECIALISMS: Performance Management
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