Our Associates

Mike Pagan

Mike is renowned for making business simple!

When business is simple, it is so much more fun – and profitable!  Mike challenges executives and business owners alike to get rid of the worst to make way for the good, whether it’s clients, products, marketing campaigns, or anything else that’s getting in the way of productive activity.

Mike has spent nearly 20 years in sales and marketing in both the corporate and SME sectors, working in the UK and internationally.  Today, he is an inspiring Public Speaker as well as a true B2B professional; his broad experience, strong leadership skills and commitment to his own professional development have all contributed to his winning contracts in the leisure and hotel markets, through to consultancy and professional services, not to mention his many speaking engagements.

A clear thread runs through everything Mike does : getting rid of badly performing activities, and ensuring that whatever he does in his own business or on behalf of others is a significant contributor. In one case, he brought a client’s spiralling marketing costs under control, then cut them in half, while increasing sales; in another, he ‘fired’ 1 in 5 customers through a proper vetting process, and increased the profits from the rest.

Mike applies the same searing logic to his choice of business partners. ETC is therefore proud to join the Directors Centre, the Academy for Chief Executives and Vistage as one of his strategic partners, and delighted to have him join our team of associates.

Dee Jones

Dee Jones began her career in Management Consulting after 16 years at the ‘sharp end’ within international companies. She has broad experience of what makes businesses successful, and has worked in all manner of sectors, both for privately owned business, and also the public sector.

Dee has been consulting for 6 years, since leaving Walkers Snack Foods. Part of Pepsico International, Walkers’ well loved brands include Walkers Crisps, Quavers, and Doritos. In her time with the company Dee worked both in the UK and across Europe, advising Walkers’ sister companies.

Over her corporate career, Dee’s roles were varied and cross-functional, and within each of them she was entirely responsible for turnover, growth, profitability, and staff within her area – indeed, each area was run as a separate business ‘unit’. She dealt with sales planning and development, strategic and financial planning, sales management, people management and development, HR, and training.

The reason Dee left the world of international crisps to go into independent Management Consultancy is simple. In her time at Walkers she realised that she was privileged to have been given a business grounding second to none, and was passionate about sharing some of these ‘secrets’ with smaller businesses, and helping real people make a real difference to their businesses. During the last 6 years, she has worked with companies as diverse as travel agents, childcare businesses, newspaper printers, and IT software suppliers.

The secret to Dee’s success is her ability to talk to anyone at any level, along with her down to earth style. She feels strongly that practical straightforward advice and action is the only way to go – you’ll get no ‘corporate mumbo jumbo’ from her. Her natural enthusiasm and genuine interest are also things that her clients comment on – someone told her once that they could tell that she loved what she does because her eyes shine!

In addition to general consultancy, Dee is a training specialist (primarily bespoke training for managers and salespeople), and is also a huge advocate of networking, having owned her own networking events business for 3 years.  She considers herself to be very lucky to be helping business within such diverse environments, and is continually inspired and delighted by the people she meets. As she herself says ‘I wouldn’t swap this job for all the tea in China!’

Stuart Munroe

Stuart brings a wealth of experience and an enviable track record from a variety of sales, marketing and general management roles, both in established companies and in businesses of his own.  On leaving school Stuart quickly found he had a gift for sales, and later for managing successful sales teams. By the mid-80’s he had joined a Medical Aids manufacturer as UK sales director, and steered them over the next 10 years from £0.5 to £38 million turnover! Similar roles in the healthcare manufacturing sector followed, until by 2003 he decided to branch out on his own.

His career since then has followed two parallel paths, both of them very successful. One has used his experience in the healthcare sector to advise companies on such matters as strategic planning, training, and responding to tenders. The other path was quite different: he chose a trade that was not over-subscribed and for which there would always be a demand, and was prepared to undergo the specialist training necessary to become a fully qualified gas engineer! This now keeps him as busy as he wants to be, in a trade he loves, and reflects the passion for personal development that has driven him, right from the time he left school.

Both paths make Stuart a very valuable Associate for ETC. His corporate background, sales management and consultancy skills make him a valued member of teams working with corporate and public sector managements. His more recent experience has given him a deep insight into the challenges and rewards of self employment, and gives him a particular empathy with business owners who welcome help to develop their own businesses through ETC’s Momentum programme.