I help SMEs fix what’s holding their business back.
When growth stalls, or you’re thinking about selling, I help you work out what needs to change.
It’s not always more sales. It could be your strategy, positioning, products, customers, routes to market, cash flow or profitability. Increasingly, it can also be sustainability demands coming from customers.
Focused commercial input, but only when you need it.
We start with eight questions to help find what’s holding you back
Where do we make money?
Which markets should we be in?
Which customers should we target?
Is our positioning still relevant?
Which products and services should we stop, improve or develop?
What should marketing and sales do differently?
What capabilities and data do we need to make better decisions?
What does the business look like through a sustainability lens?
I bring together commercial strategy, strategic marketing and practical business experience to help leadership teams decide where to focus, what to change and how to improve performance.
I typically work with B2B businesses turning over £1m–£10m.
*Adapted from the strategy framework in Simply Strategy by Richard Koch and Peter Nieuwenhuizen, with a sustainability lens added.
What I help with
Commercial strategy
Strategic marketing
Product and proposition development
Market and audience strategy
Positioning and go-to-market
Cash-flow, profitability and performance
Data, systems and capability
Sustainability, responsible business and future-fit strategy
How We Work Together
I work directly with founders, CEOs and leadership teams. No junior staff handed the account, no 80-page theoretical slide decks and no open-ended retainers that drift. Just bursts of input when you need it.
1. Commercial Strategy Sprints
Focused, high-intensity working sessions with you and your leadership team. We interrogate your numbers, audit your products and audiences, challenge your positioning and agree on what to stop, change and back. You leave with clear commercial choices and an actionable plan, not theory.
2. Fractional Commercial & Marketing Leadership
Hands-on, rolling support. Typically 1 to 2 days a week. I embed alongside you to help lead the change: reshaping propositions, fixing go-to-market and pipeline visibility, developing new revenue streams, and up-skilling your team so growth doesn't depend on one person.
3. Strategic Projects & Advisory
Targeted, project-based delivery for specific commercial milestones: launching into new markets, restructuring an unprofitable product portfolio, preparing a business for investment or sale, or aligning commercial strategy with customer sustainability and procurement demands.
Flexible: Rolling monthly agreements, reviewed at the end of each month.
Accountable: Clear commercial objectives agreed upfront. I deliver value as we go.
Pragmatic: I focus on the commercial reality of your P&L, your customers, your team.
Selected Track Record
Commercial Realignment & Proposition Restructure (B2B Content):
Grew revenues to £6m with a £900k operational margin improvement.
Commercial Strategy & ESG Alignment (Retail Marketing & Logistics):
18-month advisory engagement covering customer RFP requirements, sustainability positioning, and commercial strategy across internal teams.
Crisis to Profitability (B2B Media & Events):
Navigated market disruption through commercial restructuring, audience data monetisation, and high-margin digital revenue streams.
Strategy & Commercial Audit (Global Online Publishing):
Repositioned commercial model and value proposition for the next phase of scale.
About Me
Commercial Director with 25+ years of operational and board-level experience driving revenue growth, business turnarounds and commercial strategy.
Background includes senior leadership at BBC Worldwide and Universal Pictures, followed by leading commercial transitions across high-growth, founder-led B2B media, digital platforms, publishing, and logistics.
Combines hard-nosed commercial reality with formal sustainability rigour to build durable businesses that are genuinely future-fit.
Credentials & Frameworks:
MBA · FCIM (Fellow, Chartered Institute of Marketing) · Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) · Carbon Literacy Facilitator · Future-Fit Accredited Advisor (In progress)
Contact
Berkshire · Surrey · Thames Valley
Some Recent Client Testimonials
“I've worked with Gavin for the past two and a half years and have found him to be a truly inspirational leader. His expertise in running businesses (and turning them around!) is second to none. I have learned more from him about business strategy, commercial awareness and people management in the past two years than I have during my entire 17-year career in publishing.
CEO, Dialogue Content Agency
“What really sets Gavin apart is how well he gets both the sustainability world and the commercial one. That mix meant we ended up with a strategy that wasn’t just ‘nice to have’ but something people could get behind and deliver. He brought our teams along for the ride and helped us talk to clients about it in a way that felt honest, inspiring, and practical.
He made a big difference to our journey. I’m really glad we had him on board and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to do sustainability properly." November 2024
-Group Managing Director, Retail Marketing & Logistics Company
“Gavin combines commercial thinking with practical sustainability expertise. He focuses on what sustainability means in real business terms rather than theory or ESG reporting.
He provided clear, actionable advice and a coaching style that helped us rethink how we approached the challenges we were facing. He also delivered a written strategy document that gave us a practical foundation and pathway for moving forward.
It was a strong mix of commercial clarity, practical sustainability insight and hands-on support.” May 2026
-Nick Payne, Managing Director SA Brain
"We had a brilliant workshop with Gavin – lots of fantastic insights and a whole new perspective on sustainability and marketing in a sustainable world."
-German National Tourist Board
