The Team
With over 150 years of combined Business experience, Consilium has assembled a formidable team of Business Advisors, Mentors and Business Specialists whose vast experience in the corporate world and the SME business space enables them to offer practical advice centered around supporting you in achieving your vision for your business.
Senior Management
Guy Reynish
Guy is the joint founder and Operations Director of Consilium.
Having spent over 30 years in business, the key has been strategic decision-making and robust financial management – which accelerates growth, and extends the life of any business. Guy thrives on meeting clients and advising them in key aspects of strategic management, business planning, financial forecasting and various funding options that may be available to them.
His key strengths include engaging with clients from different sectors, and having a full understanding of the business complexities they face, despite business size or sector. His 30 years of hands-on experience with businesses brings confidence to the clients.
Guy is also holds a degree in Accounting, enabling him to understand the commercial and financial technicalities when working alongside senior stakeholders. This expertise has often led to building consensus across diverse, and often challenging, boardroom and workplace environments. Clients often prefer to utilise Guy’s experience on budgetary control, profit and loss account responsibility and investment decisions. He has consulted over 250 businesses year to date – advising them on business strategy, forecasting, and planning.
Guy is a lover of food – and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty behind the cooker if needs be… His go-to cuisine is French, with his absolute favourite dish being fruits de mer – with a glass of wine to follow, naturally!
Kapil Bali
A successful Entrepreneur who spent almost 25 years in the corporate world within the financial services sector. Kapil has worked with some of the leading Banks and Financial Companies – becoming an expert in financial sector verticals such as Banking, Capital Markets, and Insurance.
He has helped in starting and then building a number of successful companies such as Reliance Mutual Fund, Reliance Securities as its CEO, and YES Securities as its Executive Director and CEO. Kapil has been covered extensively in print and digital media for his views on the capital markets in India. Using technology as a driver, Kapil transformed traditional process systems – with online paperless trading platforms that were focused on convenience and cost at the same time – driving cost efficiency for the company. Kapil’s key strength is the understanding of the practical application of technology to businesses.
After leaving the corporate world, Kapil began his life as an entrepreneur – co-founding businesses in Finance and Food Sectors in India. He has joined the team at Consilium to feed his passion of mentoring young businesses and enabling them to achieve their potential. Away from work Kapil’s passions include running half marathons and reading books.
Razwan Nazir
Razwan is joint founder of Consilium Consulting, and has over 20 years of experience in the corporate world and the SME space, heading up Sales and Business Development Functions.
His main strengths encompass technical skills in growing businesses, as well as the ability to communicate well with people in all spheres of life. Razwan enjoys the diversity the SME world and the challenge each client brings – as any given two days are never the same… Experience has taught Razwan that people buy into people rather than brands – and that collaboration is much more powerful than competition.
Razwan graduated from University of Manchester, and started professional life in Wireless Technologies, before moving onto HSBC Bank on their management programme. Within two years Razwan was appointed Regional Director, and he went on to manage the Islamic Banking Division for both Midlands and Wales.Razwan then worked with HSBC Amanah, helping them ultimately brand penetrate and occupy an impressive 70% of the market.
Using his background in banking, Razwan has built up a network of investor community, and has access to more than 150 Investors (Private Equity Houses, VCs, High Net Individuals, Family Offices) which enable Consilium to place exciting businesses with the right investors.
As a follower of Pakistani Cricket Team, Everton Football Club and the Welsh Rugby Team, he believes he is soon due a pacemaker – as his heart cannot cope with the mood swings of the teams he’s fallen in love with!
Cardiff Office
Catrina O’Hare
Catrina moved to Consilium in 2020 as the Office Manager to further enhance the skills she learned in University and in the Law Firm. This has also exposed her to the operational management of complex processes and systems.
Outside of work, Catrina is a lover of travel and music, with her next trip planned to Nashville (USA) for a Country Music Festival. She promises to share her music festival experiences via a Karaoke night !!
Associate Consultants
Puja Rana Bali
A Human Resources professional with an impressive track record in the Information Technology and Services sectors. Employed as HR Manager by Genpact, a unit within General Electric, that went on to become a leading Global Professional Services Organization.
This was the perfect environment to grasp great experience in diverse areas such as Operations, direct recruitment from major Educational institutes and even from the prestigious Delhi University Colleges.
Puja has also managed indirect recruitment via agency channels, as well as gaining valuable experience as an HR business partner in the following areas: Workforce Planning and Employment, Talent Management and Succession Planning, Strategic Planning, Mentoring, Development and Training, Employee Engagement and Retention Programs, Payroll and Appraisals, Compensations and Benefits, along with reviewing HR Policies, within Commercial Businesses.
Puja’s experience has given her a great understanding of the HR Function within businesses. Puja assists companies with HR Back Office services – as well as assisting the management team so they focus on their core business.
Puja loves gardening and listening to music; with her favorites including Bollywood’s latest stars in Arijit Singh and Atif Aslam, as well as rock legends Pink Floyd.
Michael Billington
Whether you’re new to regulation or an established firm, Go Comply provide a comprehensive suite of services designed to help you better manage your regulatory risk and remain compliant. We’ve made it our mission to use our experience to simplify your regulatory world and deliver practical results. Michael has over 10 years’ experience in senior compliance posts within FCA regulated financial services and has worked for/ with Capita, KPMG, NCO Europe Ltd, Oplo and Cattles. Michael is also an Associate Tutor for the Credit Services Association for their Level 6 Senior Compliance & Risk Diploma.
Andy Bird
Andy is a highly experienced B2B and B2C business consultant with a proven track record in business growth. His focus is on establishing a strategy for businesses to expand – and ensuring that all the necessary building blocks are in place as the platform for growth.
Andy spent over 20 years in senior corporate roles at regional, national and international companies, leading teams to drive growth and managing fast growing divisions. He now adds value to businesses by using this experience to coach, mentor and advise business owners on their growth and company performance.
Andy has worked as an Independent consultant for over 10 years, and has successfully advised on the expansion of both established and young companies. He collaborates with them, helping them prepare for their next stages of growth, investment, MBO, acquisition and scaling up. Andy has also spent the last three years mentoring businesses for Accelerated Growth Programme for the Welsh Government, enabling them to grow and scale up to the next level.
Emma Del Torto
Originally from London, Emma came to Wales to attend law school at Cardiff University in 1993 before qualifying as a solicitor in 1998, specialising in employment law. She also holds a Master’s degree in employment law.
With over 20 years’ experience in employment law and HR, Emma established Effective HRM in 2011 with a mission of becoming the UK’s most cost-effective, personable and valuable HR service. Nine years on and she still feels passionately about her vision of creating a nation full of positive, proactive and empowered employers.
Straight talking, pragmatic and a great team player, Emma focusses on delivering expert employment law advice, combined with the preventative good practice of HR management and commercial realism. She’s particularly talented at getting to grips with complex issues quickly and resolving problems with a collaborative and solution focused approach.
Tony Down
Tony commenced his accountancy and business advisory career with the family firm in South Wales, where he received invaluable insights into not just the accountancy profession, but the wider aspects of leading, planning and operating a business within the wider economic environment.
Having qualified as an accountant, he then went on to obtain a practising certificate early in 2002. He has since advised many businesses and their owners in many aspects of accountancy and business financial management. He also acts as a consultant CFO/FD to a number of growing businesses, and has successfully undertaken a number of turnaround assignments.
Tony was also a lead consultant with Venture Wales – where he advised numerous SME’s of all shapes and sizes enabling them to scale up and grow their business. His specialty is in helping business owners and their own leadership teams; helping them identify their key objectives and to create a clear strategy in order to achieve those objectives. This is achieved by preparing business plans and detailed financial projections, and implementing a system whereby actual financial data is accurately recorded. He regularly meets with clients to review actual performance against forecasts and provides ongoing advice and training.
Aisha Ejaz
Aisha is Founder & Managing Director of Zenith Street, a boutique management consultancy, and a B2B Thought Leader endorsing compassionate leadership strategy. She has been advising high growth B2B/B2C tech start-ups & early-stage SMEs with their strategic growth & venture capital fundraising plans for over 20 years.
Aisha’s career started running London’s leading business angel networks and subsequently transitioned into commercial banking helping businesses with their growth & liquidity plans. Being a venture capital & commercial finance insider, Aisha has special insight into the complete business financing wheel. She also mentored women in banking & finance taking the leap into entrepreneurship and start-ups with Natwest Bank’s Business Accelerator. She has a specialist MBA in Entrepreneurship from HULT Business School, London.
Currently, she is writing a book on funding female founders and how nothing short of a revolution will ensure relevant impact for women led businesses. In her spare time, she enjoys long unplanned walks & is an avid reader.
Darren Forrest
Darren is the Founder of Inovasi Ltd and is the main driving force within the business.
He adopts a very much hands on approach and will work very closely with each client.
After many years of running a successful design bureau he recognised the significant opportunity for helping clients identify and maximise the uses of UK intellectual property and government grant funding.
With a professional, knowledgeable and experienced approach Darren makes sure that no stone is left unturned.
Sarah Hayes
Sarah Hayes is Founder and Managing Director of Strengths Director Coaching specialising in leadership and performance coaching to deliver sustainable business results for clients. Sarah has a wealth of business experience, working as a top performing corporate leader in Financial Services for Global Fortune 500 organisations. Sarah has extensive experience of leading and developing large and complex teams, cross functional working and stakeholder management.
Sarah has designed and run programmes to deliver cultural transformation to improve organisational engagement, productivity and performance with SMEs across multiple industries. Strengths Director Coaching is an organisation focussed on creating long term habits that change the way people perform.
Sarah’s approach is to combine strengths based psychology and behavioural engineering techniques to change the way managers inspire & develop their teams, enabling them to communicate and collaborate better so their teams feel valued & connected to the company mission and performance is enhanced.
Karen Howell
Karen is an experienced marketer having worked in construction, property and industrial products over a career spanning 20 years. Beginning as a product manager and rapidly moving to a marketing manager role, Karen then progressed to head of marketing setting up marketing departments.
In 2006 she started Zebroid Marketing, an outsourced marketing consultancy, which was borne out of a core desire to help businesses who needed high level strategic expertise to help them in implementing marketing expertise into their business with the aim of growing their operation.
Karen’s talents lie in being able to work closely with her clients to identify strategy and subsequently embed the marketing process into the business; as well as providing a hands-on approach to implementing the overall marketing activities.
Clients have described Karen as bringing a sense of organisation and calm to their marketing; being extremely tenacious; and achieving results through exceedingly well-planned strategic marketing activity. At the same time, she manages to gain the trust and support of the surrounding team. One client described Karen’s contribution to building their profile to a business which far outreached its size, and credited this with the work Karen implemented.
Outside of work, Karen is keen to support young people and is a volunteer with the Princes Trust.
Amina Hussain
A qualified Accountant with over 20 years’ experience in Accountancy, Taxation, Insolvency and Forensic Accounting. Amina started her professional career with KPMG and specialised in Corporate Structuring. This gave her a great insight into resolving both management and financial problems faced in the corporate sector.
Amina has worked small, medium and large organisations and have been trained to assist multi-sector clients who have benefited from a wide range of business support, advice and guidance. Having set up her own accounting practice Amina is passionate about the SME sector with the key objective to provide the appropriate and targeted support to clients. This not only meets their taxation requirements but Amina offers an advisory role to them helping them to plan their business growth.
Amina has been recently appointed as Vice President of Asian Business Chambers of Commerce (Birmingham) as well as starting a new project aimed at helping young people get jobs with accounting training and qualifications through her SME Accounting Academy.
Mandeep Kaur
Mandeep is the Managing Partner of KaurMaxwell. Mandeep qualified in 2011 and has been on an exponential career path. Mandeep completed her Legal Practice Course at BBP Law School in Holborn. Mandeep also completed her LLM, Masters in 2009-2010 and her Higher Rights of Audience in 2010-2011.
On Linkedin, Mandeep has well over 250 endorsements for legal advice and Dispute Resolution. She is well known for her no-nonsense commercial approach. Having been in business for many years, Mandeep is able to connect with businesses and individuals, whether it be to find a solution, or to protect them fiercely.
Mandeep is KaurMaxwell’s Compliance Officer for Legal Practice and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COLP and COFA).
Nafila Khan
A former Journalist with over 15 years of Communications, Events and PR Management experience. Nafila Imani Khan has been an asset when delivering projects for our business. Equipped with a diverse ‘industry’ background, having worked alongside PLC’s, large SME’s, micro-businesses and start-ups, Nafila’s clients consist of most sectors, including the Media, Hospitality and Telecoms. Accustomed to designing and delivering successful communications strategies to meet profile-building and influencing objectives; Nafila has worked closely with our team to successfully create compelling and powerful messages to engage both internal and external stakeholders.
Dee Kundi
Dee is a qualified solicitor with twenty years’ experience in the legal profession. Dee has worked with some of the top companies and law firms in the West Midlands, including Wragge & Co (now known as Gowling WLG) in Birmingham, In House Counsel for HSBC Bank PLC, one of the world’s largest global banks, Irwin Mitchell LLP, the largest law firm in England, Head of Legal for HL Solicitors based in Redditch, Commercial Litigation Partner and Head of Debt Recovery for Veale Wasbrough Vizards (VWV) national law firm, National Head of Debt Recovery for Knights PLC, another national law firm.
Dee received special recognition and is named as a Leading Individual in the Legal 500 for West Midlands Debt Recovery and is established as one of the market leaders in litigation and debt recovery. She is recognised both as a strong deliverer and a key innovator in the field.
Experienced in debt recovery and dispute resolution, Dee advises on all aspects of managing a commercial debt portfolio and provides a one-stop-shop, from pre-legal dispute resolution, through to litigation and enforcement of judgments to a broad client base. With a proactive approach to debt portfolio management and her innovative designs for an online debt recovery portal, she has been able to increase the speed and efficiency of recovery for a large volume of debts.
Her positions included being the Chairwoman of the Birmingham Law Society. She was elected as a council member of Birmingham Law Society in April 2015 and joined the Board as a Director 12 months later; being the first Asian woman on the Board. She helps and advises Aston University by siting on their Law School Advisory Board and also sits on the Capital Development committee for Symphony Hall and Town Hall.
In May 2014, Dee was appointed Vice President of the ABCC, part of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce after sitting on their Board for a number of years and was also formerly a NED (non-executive director) of TAG Network Midlands (‘TAG’).
Dee is also a multi-award-winning lawyer winning over 27 Debt Recovery awards, including Best in Legal Services Awards, Outstanding Business Woman, Professional of the Year awards, Litigation awards, Debt Recovery awards and many more.
Nikki Matheson
A part-qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience working in both practice and industry. Nikki started her professional career with Grant Thornton in audit and insolvency. She then focused on small business, working in roles encompassing accountancy, management, and administration. She is very experienced in solving problems which arise in day-to-day business operations and is particularly aware of the liquidity and cashflow problems often experienced by SME and the necessity of sourcing appropriate funding to enable business development and growth.
Nikki has 10 years’ experience in property investment and development and has sourced, project managed and developed several small renovations, conversions, and new builds. Nikki is CeMAP qualified, and the desire to assist businesses and individuals in solving their funding issues led her to establish a commercial finance brokerage. Hanson Property Services is a whole of market broker with access to over 200 lenders and a back office of over 20 experienced brokers and support staff.
Nikki’s combined knowledge and experience gives her the ability to understand and source the most suitable funding solution for clients’ business needs and property projects. She also sources properties and developments on behalf of investors and can advise and appraise projects on behalf of clients. Recently, Nikki has been supporting Consilium across it’s Group of Companies and leading the business development for the Consilium Finance brand in the North West and Yorkshire.
Craig McVoy
Craig McVoy is the Founder of Beyond Brand & Turnkey. Craig has over 25 years’ experience working with the most recognisable brands in the world, such as John Lewis, BMW, LV=, Mercedes Benz and Direct Line, to design and implement brand growth strategies.
As a leading authority, speaker and consultant in brand strategy and business growth, he now works with brands to help them achieve the holy grail – ‘Sustainable Growth’.
Craig formed his growth agency “Beyond Brand” in 2016 to help scale up businesses grow faster than their competition. Attracting more customers and then keeping them for longer, to become the default choice in their target markets.
In 2022 Craig hatched his plan to launch a growth enabler called Turnkey. Specifically focused around helping high growth potential Start Up’s succeed and gain early traction, to speed up their growth and make them more investible. Turnkey launches in the summer of 2022, so watch this space for more exciting news on the amazing team that has formed to deliver this unique proposition.
Craig has a No1 Best Selling book – ‘Beyond Brand – Why It’s the Experience That Causes People to Fall in Love with Your Brand’, which focused on brand experience, and you can also watch his recent TEDx Talk online, titled ‘Brand Loyalty – It’s just a matter of time’.
Rohit Nanda
Rohit has a passion for working with SME business owners and coming up with realistic and practical solutions to their business challenges. He has over 20 years experience in the Financial Markets Sector, having worked at GE Capital, Nomura, UBS & the award winning FinTech disruptor, Asset Match.
He has a broad range of business expertise, notably e-commerce, websites, electronic platforms, technology and being involved in establishing a FinTech firm. Rohit has a detailed understanding of business and entrepreneurship, and has successfully implemented and improved a number of key business processes.
A holder of an MBA from Cass Business School, Rohit is PRINCE 2 qualified, and studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine. In addition, he has recently been a visiting business lecturer at Riga Graduate School of Law.
In 2019, he established The Business Trouble-shooter – and they have now partnered with The Alpha Group, collaborating with both business owners and/or managing directors of SME firms to help them double or triple the value of their business over 3 years. Over the past few years, Rohit has been recognised as one of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech, and has most recently been presented with a Pioneer Award in June 2019.
Mabs Noor
A highly effective and adaptable Business Consultant with over 20 years of experience and a proven track record of providing business consultancy, mentoring and development advice as well as extensive business operations management experience. Specialist in leading business transformation projects with particular expertise of working with SME and Growth businesses as well as managing Venture Capital and local regeneration schemes. Demonstrates strong commercial acumen with a proven ability to improve operational efficiency, manage change and enhance performance as well as capitalise on new business opportunities with an exemplary record of success in driving business growth and cost reduction. Also demonstrates excellent senior level stakeholder management experience with a proven ability to advise, engage and gain buy-in for projects and initiatives at board level.
Mabs has also worked as a Regional Manager for Venture Wales providing business support to over 1,500 businesses in different sectors and assisted in starting around 150 businesses during his time there. He also has been a board and panel member on a number of Welsh Government entrepreneurial initiatives and was a Mentor for Welsh Governments first Accelerator programme for disadvantaged groups.
Anita Punpher
Anita is a Senior Associate and specialises in litigation, HMRC tax investigations and disputes (Civil and Criminal), advising on company loans and family law. Anita completed her LPC at the University of Law in 2007 and qualified in 2011. She is able to get to the heart of the issues of a case and will be not unsettled by any hurdles which may come in her way to achieve her client’s objectives.
Anita has extensive knowledge in tax litigation having worked in a niche regional firm. Her experience includes appeals against VAT and excise assessments, Schedule 36 notices, the refusal and/or revocation of various licences (AWRS, WOWGR and other approvals), and all other Tribunal related matters. She has had reported cases in the Tax Tribunal (First Tier and Upper Tribunal), High Court and the Supreme Court. Anita has acted for individuals and businesses who have a high net value.
When representing clients in ancillary relief proceedings, Anita has been able to use her knowledge and experience from chancery cases when dealing with difficult trust issues which arise from a matrimonial dispute. She settled has proceedings without the need of attending contested hearings as family proceedings can often be very stressful for all parties.
Sarin Shringi
Sarin is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). He has gained a wealth of experience dealing with a wide range of clients across various industries, specialising in corporation and international tax. Sarin advises on corporate tax planning, investigations and disputes.
Sarin has assisted in the restructuring for many clients providing tax efficiencies which clients value and he has been the pioneer in setting up multiple EIS and SEIS schemes to boost clients businesses through equity investment. His skills also include private client tax advisory, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and income tax.
Andrew Smith
Andrew is an experienced Marketing Director with strong leadership skills gained from over 30 years in the consumer goods industry, and a natural planner.
He has demonstrated a consistent track record of delivering exceptional performance across different sizes of organisations, and very used to P&L accountability.
Andrew offers commercial acumen, customer management expertise, and the skills to make things happen where there is a transformation agenda. He is an open communicator and enjoys working with people across all levels and disciplines and building strong working relationships.
Zane Teladia
Zane is also a qualified Financial Advisor having managed a portfolio of over 300 high net worth clients including prominent Athletes, Musicians and Royal Family members from across the globe. Providing his clients with personable regulated advice on a range of areas including investments, pensions and inheritance tax planning whilst taking the time to really understand their individual needs.
For the majority of his career, Zane has worked in the regulatory risk advisory arena across the Big 4 consultancy firms. Helping large investment and pension firms enforce robust risk controls against the backdrop of ever changing regulatory requirements.
Zane enjoys the dynamic nature of the corporate world where no two days are the same and is driven by the satisfaction of successfully delivering on his clients needs. Away from the workplace he is a keen traveller and also dedicates much of his time to managing homeless outreach and bereavement support programmes in the West Midlands which he co-founded.
Ian Vickers
Ian is owner and director of Systems 80 Group, a qualified chartered accountant and PhD mathematician, whose professional life began with a 16-year career in the City of London.
Ian supports many businesses with their financial accounting & compliance (e.g. Making Tax Digital), business systems & integration, digital presence & marketing, utilising technology to drive efficiency and growth. He is a versatile and numerate manager, highly effective in driving technical projects and associated commercial schedules. Has a positive can-do approach with the determination to achieve challenging targets and gain the commitment of others in the pursuit of the end goal.
Ian achieved a PhD in Mathematics at UCL in 1993, which honed his analytical talent and computer programming skills. Working with Ernst & Young in London for four years earned Ian experience of Accounting, Finance, Business and Project management and his ACA qualification. A further 10 years of senior management roles in City of London institutions Nomura, UBS and RWE exposed Ian to the challenging environment of complex commodity and foreign currency trading, in which he thrived. He returned to Wales in 2005 and acquired Systems 80 in 2006, which has grown to a group of businesses whose operations include accounting & business software, digital marketing & media, retail sportswear, workwear & leisurewear and construction industry services. The group also has interests in property management software, lead generation and payroll bureau.
In contrast to his commercial interests, Ian’s personal interests are simple: family and friends, sport and fitness, current affairs.