Who we are

Read more about our team below.

Dr Chris Lilly – Non Executive Chairman

Chris Lilly is a successful innovative business leader who has created a number of high-tech and highly innovative businesses. His practical business experience has demonstrated that innovative cultures come from the top and he is an expert at developing creative cultures within organizations. He is passionate about making businesses successful and creating organizations that have high morale with people who are totally motivated, whilst abhorring executive excess and greed. He shares his experience through his book, ‘The Start-Up Survival Guide’, mentoring, coaching and consulting – in between creating new businesses.

Mark Brown - CEO

Mark, formerly Visiting Professor of Innovation, Henley Management College (1996-2006) is currently CEO of Innovation Centre Europe and the Dolphin Index Organization. He consults and presents to a wide variety of public, voluntary and private sector organizations and academic institutions across Europe and the Middle East whilst also researching and writing about why some individuals, teams and organizations are more successful, open, creative and innovative than others. His last major book publication is 'The Dinosaur Strain' - for a free electronic copy go to markbrown.co.uk

Other media products include:

 

'Ideas Into Action', which has won sixteen international awards, including three at the International Film and Television Festival in New York.

The ‘Blue Movie: Generating Great Ideas’, which has received three awards since its release.

The 'Green Movie: Empowerment Within a Framework', which has won eight awards. Other successes include the ‘Red Movie’ and his recently released 'Interactive Ideas into Action' product – see Video Arts

Pekka Rintala – Development Director Operations

Pekka has a rich background in sales, marketing management, market research, new product development, new business development, introduction and roll-out. He is highly experienced in working across organizational boundaries in multicultural environments. He is entrepreneurial in both thought and action and has an undying fascination with the innovation process, in theory and practice, and how to improve it.

Paul Sigsworth – Development Director Programmes

Paul brings a unique blend of commercial and HR experience covering marketing, innovation, leadership development and coaching. He is highly experienced in learning design and development and facilitation. He is able to identify strategic innovation needs within organisations and to develop a deep understanding of the people and cultural aspects of reaching innovation goals. Paul’s biggest driver is a fascination with discovering and developing the potential within people. He surprised himself by completing the Chicago Marathon in 2006 but doesn’t quite understand how one marathon just seems to lead to another…. Berlin ahoy!

Gemma Phillips-Pike – Principal Researcher

Gemma Phillips-Pike is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with a passion for getting the best out of people in the workplace. She has experience working with all employee levels within an organisation, both public and private sector. Her specialisms include psychometric assessment, coaching, and employee engagement. Alongside work, Gemma is Secretary of the British Psychological Society (South West Branch), a Chartership Supervisor, a Visiting Lecturer and a mother to a toddler, which is by far the hardest job in the world!

Gemma likes this quote from Abraham Maslow, ‘If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail’. For Gemma, this quote acts as a reminder that we need to constantly strive to update our ‘toolbox’, alter our approach to things to see them differently and to achieve our goals.

Sarah Russell – Finance and Administration

Sarah wishes to take a low profile but is the mind and muscle behind much of what we do well. And obligingly does a lot of the things no one else wants to do!