Meet Your Mentors
CJ Lloyd Webley
CJ Lloyd Webley is a multi-award winning writer and social entrepreneur helping freelancers and sole-traders to perfect their brand story. As the Founder of The Black Pounds Project, CJ has helped over 1.5k entrepreneurs access business or financial support, and has created a bespoke mentorship programme for start-ups. CJ spoke at events by Labour, Lloyds, Natwest and British Business Bank to highlight challenges faced by black entrepreneurs.
Jacque Adiru Williams
Jacque offers (Advisers in Data Protection, Information Security, Risk Management and Underlying Corporate Governance), Adiru is actually her middle name.
Her mission is to level the playing field by implementing strong governance systems within these businesses, that will enhance our status, our access to wider markets and ultimately our ability to attract investment.
Jacque has been inspired by recent turmoil and driven to engage with Black owned businesses, empowering them to reach their strategic goals.
Assim Ishaque
Sue Bedward
Sue is an MSc academically qualified coach and mentor, CIPD accredited trainer and Certified Business Assessor with a passion for professional leadership development and growth. Sue is a true advocate for mentoring leadership practice.
Rebecca Mander
Heidi Fisher MBE
Heidi Fisher MBE has helped over 2,100 social enterprises, from start-ups to those with £1bn+ of income in the UK and internationally. Heidi is also a Chartered Accountant, having trained with PwC. She ran a specialist Social Enterprise accountancy firm for 8 years.
Nigel Campbell
Nigel has over 25 years experience working in sales and marketing and has worked with and helped 1000’s of business owners in that time. He also runs a peer mentoring and training programme for sole business owners who want to get better at sales and marketing.
Dr Susanne Evans
Dr Susanne Evans is a coach, trainer and facilitator with 20 years experience in advising SME’s and high growth firms and leaders. Her particular areas of expertise are employee engagement; culture change; HR management; organisation design and restructuring; management and leadership development; learning and development design, delivery and evaluation; talent management; HR functional effectiveness and efficiency; performance management and managing effective transformational change.
Natasha Broomfield-Reid
Natasha has over 20 years’ experience of working within the diversity and inclusion field, and prior to setting up her business, Diverse Matters was the Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Victim Support. Natasha led the organisation to become a Stonewall top 100 employer, achieve the ‘Leaders in Diversity’ and ‘Investors in Diversity’ accreditation from the National Centre for Diversity and the charity was the first national charity to achieve ‘Leaders in Diversity’ status.
Rachael Thomas
Currently Executive Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre (“The REP”), Rachael is an experienced cultural leader with over 25 years’ experience at senior level across arts and heritage organisations. Prior to The REP, Rachael was Executive Director for Derby Theatre, Head of Finance at Nottingham Playhouse and Director of Phoenix Arts and Merlin Theatre. Rachael has also led a major heritage organisation, delivering the £20m capital project at Lincoln Castle – a multi award-winning restoration and relaunch of the medieval castle and Magna Carta as a premium visitor attraction.
Harriet Saunders
Harriet is passionate about helping growing businesses scale up by unlocking funding and she is always keen to meet businesses within the patch. Harriet works as a Fund Executive at The FSE Group, working to deliver £42m of debt funding to SMES as part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. Harriet is responsible for maintaining the smooth day to day operations of the fund at FSE, deal execution and general fund administration.
Lucille Roache
Lucille has been coaching for over 10 years, helping teams and individuals to recognise and achieve their full potential. Lucille is a qualified Corporate & Executive Coach an NLP practitioner, hypnotherapist and timeline coach.
Lucille Roache is a Business Startup coach, author and a public speaker, who works with new female business owners and helps them to create a step-by-step plan of action to set their business up for success, without the confusion and overwhelm. Using a range of coaching tools Lucille helps her clients to build their confidence and set goals for their business.
Jen Campbell
Jen has established a track record of delivering premium consultancy services specialising in Talent Management, Executive Search, Career Coaching, Mentoring and Business Advice. It is Jen’s true passion and commitment to assist and empower clients to realise their full potential.
Surlender Pendress
Surlender had worked in a financial corporate background for 20 years before starting her business Love Writing Co. developing a range of children’s writing resources all designed to make the art of learning to write easier, quicker and fun for children.
Surlender is an entrepreneur, in early 50’s, mum, glam ma and like most of us, used to juggling about 50 roles in life and lives in the Black Country, West Midlands with her family.
Whilst bringing up 2 children as a working single mum, Surlender had a successful 2nd job as a self-employed makeup artists which enabled her to be creative and have a taste of the benefits of running your own business.