Advisory & Fractional Leadership For Consumer Brands
Board Advisor & Fractional COO/MD
 Former COO at Ffern and Le Col
Bringing 25+ years of commercial and operational leadership to founders, boards and leadership teams — shaping strategy, strengthening capability and supporting both decisions and delivery.
Fractional COO/MD & Board Advisor
Former COO at Ffern and Le Col
£12m to £60m ARR
Ffern — luxury perfumery brand scaled 5X in under 3 years via international expansion.Â
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 £200k to £17m
Le Col — early stage UK cycling brand scaled to a global multi-channel apparel brand.Â
£25m private equity Â
Extensive PE experience. Fundraising, DD & exit processes, reporting, board dynamics, investor comms.Â
£millions savedÂ
A background in strategic supply chain for major corporates means value engineering is always in focus.
The challenges come thick and fast in the world of consumer brands. Â
Whether it’s rapid growth and bigger teams creating operational complexity, supply chain constraints, or changing market conditions putting pressure on trading, margins and cash, the challenges can quickly test leadership, board dynamics - and investor relations.
The decisions get bigger and more consequential.Â
Having someone alongside you who’s navigated those challenges before can make a real difference.
Whether that means bringing perspective and judgement as a board advisor, stepping in as Fractional COO or MD to lead teams and improve performance, or combining the two.
Typical scenarios where I get involvedÂ
• The business is at an inflection point and preparing for a step-change e.g. growth, investment, international expansion, new channels, or acquisition.
• The business isn't delivering its full potential because leadership capacity and operational execution are struggling to keep pace with growth and complexity.
• The business needs experienced general management leadership to align teams, strengthen accountability and deliver agreed commercial and operational objectives.
• Margins are under pressure, and the business is no longer performing.Â
Leadership needs an experienced perspective to help identify the issues, challenge whether the way the business operates is still fit for purpose, and help implement the changes needed to restore performance.Â
• Founders and leadership teams would benefit from an experienced board-level operator to help advise on the big decisions, ensure clarity of focus, and support investor dynamics.
Results
Ffern - Luxury D2CÂ Subscription
Ffern | Scaling operations from £12m to £60m ARR via international expansion across North America and 15+ EU countries. ​ As COO, built and led the operational capability required to support 5x growth. ​ Overhauled manufacturing and supply chain, increasing agility and significantly reducing lead times to enable later, more accurate forecasting, while cutting manufacturing costs by 30% and 3PL costs by 10%, improving resilience and cash flow, and building capacity to c.25m components p.a. ​ Alongside this, scaled customer operations 5x to support 350k annual contacts, strengthened NPD, commercial contracts and risk management, and supported due diligence for a £10m PE raise.
Le Col Premium Apparel
Le Col | Building an early stage UK business into a global cycling apparel brand operating across multiple sales channels. ​As COO, co-owner and Board Director, helped build Le Col from a team of four and £200k T/O into a £17m global cycling apparel brand, building teams, shaping commercial decisions and balancing ambitious growth with the operational and financial realities of delivering it. ​Scaled operations and supply chain through 500% growth from 2019 to 2021, navigating Covid and Brexit while building the manufacturing, warehousing and fulfilment capability to support growth. ​Central to financial modelling, cash flow, and securing £15m across PE and crowdfunding rounds, with extensive experience of due diligence, investor relations and board reporting.
Tofuture Acquisition
Tofuture | Successful acquisition in 2024. Appointed as board advisor to a fast-growing kitchen gadget brand dealing with the challenges of growth across multiple channels and a rapidly evolving competitive landscape. Advised on channel strategy, exit timing and approach, supported preparation for an exit process that culminated in a successful acquisition in December 2024.
Seeing the Full Picture
Across 25+ years in commercial and operational leadership, I’ve seen how clear strategic choices, commercial discipline and effective execution work together to build stronger businesses.
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That perspective has been shaped by:
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• Strategic supply chain for numerous major corporates
• Commercial and margin leadership on the agency side, across global brands including Sky, Diageo and Unilever
• The last decade as COO for PE-backed consumer brands across multiple channels
I've lived both sides of the growth story too — COO and co-owner during steep, exciting, year on year scaling journeys, and through harder moments; market downturns, rapid cash burn, and tough restructuring decisions, before another rapid 5X growth journey as COO.
That experience informs how I advise and lead through different business situations — recognising opportunities as well as warning signs, understanding where each can lead and knowing when to act, while appreciating how different circumstances shape company culture, board dynamics, investor relations and exit potential.
MCIPSÂ Â LLB HONSÂ
 Fractional COO/MD
Board Advisor/NED
Hybrid ModelÂ
The engagement that's right for your business
As Fractional COO/MD
Getting hands-on to turn priorities into action
As Fractional COO, I work across operational and commercial performance, strengthening capability and leading the changes needed to support growth. As Fractional MD, the remit extends to broader business leadership, aligning priorities across functions and taking greater responsibility for overall business performance.
Build stronger operations
Manufacturing, supply chain, demand and inventory planning, Q/C, fulfilment and logistics. Improving efficiency, resilience, agility and margin, while building the operational capability to support growth and international expansion.
Finance and commercial performance
P&L, pricing, margin, inventory, working capital and cost base. Setting clear performance priorities, interrogating the numbers and aligning commercial plans with operational capacity and cash. Tightening the key commercial levers to improve cash flow and EBITDA.
Strengthen teams and leadership
Developing and leading teams through growth and change. Strengthening structures, roles, capability and accountability, and ensuring leadership teams work to clear, shared business priorities.
Turning Plans into action
Turning business priorities into delivery through clear objectives, ownership, KPIs, reporting and an effective operating rhythm. Resolving competing demands and keeping teams aligned, focused and accountable for results.
Get more from suppliers and partners
Procurement, contracts and negotiation across key supplier and partner relationships. Stepping in with the seniority and experience to get better outcomes from the important conversations.
As Board Advisor/NED
The guidance I wish we'd had.
Some of the most difficult decisions come when there isn't an obvious right answer.
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Rapid growth, tougher trading, investment and exit decisions each bring very different challenges for leadership teams and boards.
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Having experienced those situations first-hand, I understand the value of having an experienced and genuinely independent voice around the table.
As an advisor, I bring that owner-operator perspective to founders and leadership teams.
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Providing the judgement and challenge to help make well-informed, pragmatic decisions around growth plans, risk and long-term value, and act on them with greater confidence.
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Supporting board dynamics, investor relations, and conversations around investment and exit opportunities.
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Where the fit is right, this can include select hands-on involvement in specific projects — helping assess the opportunity, stress test viability, shape the approach, and support delivery.
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Can extend to a formal NED appointment if required.
A HybridÂ
Don’t need an ongoing Fractional COO/MD but do need some senior hands-on support?
If the fit's right, a hybrid advisory engagement with select hands-on involvement, or a project based brief may suit.
Categories include:
• Beauty, Wellness, Fragrance, Personal CareÂ
• Apparel, Lifestyle, Sports, OutdoorÂ
• Food, Drink & Nutrition
• Home & GiftingÂ