The Alternative Board Derby & East Midlands

Max is the owner of The Alternative Board in Derby and East Midlands Central. He is an experienced executive having spent 25 years running a variety of different companies ranging in size from £8m to £50m and from 40 people to 400. With a background in Marketing and Sales with Brands such as Pretty Polly and Hush Puppies, he then moved into General Management with Mattel Toys in Amsterdam, with responsibility for Eastern Europe, The Middle East and Africa.

Deciding it was time to move back to the UK in time for the important schooling years for his boys, and to leave the big Corporate world behind, Max took over as CEO of Maclaren pushchairs in Northamptonshire before spending time as MD/CEO of manufacturing companies in Housewares, Decorating Products and latterly Furniture, for a number of Private Equity owners.

In 15 years of running SMEs Max has experienced nearly everything that the business world can throw at you including acquisitions and disposals; people challenges; factory relocations and closures; more people challenges; cash flow dramas; opening new channels of distribution; yet more people challenges; managing rapid growth, and finally, more people challenges! He learned the hard way that running SMEs can be a very lonely experience and being able to “swap notes” with fellow business owners was a massive benefit. He formed his own unofficial Peer Board with a number of contemporaries in non-competing businesses within the DIY products sector and that experience is ultimately what attracted him to The Alternative Board.

Now firmly established as a business coach and advisor, Max has a passion for helping business owners get to the heart of the challenges that they face and to calmly put in place solutions to help them achieve their objectives. If all of this can be achieved whilst walking his dogs or hitting a golf ball, then even better!

Jimi is a Facilitator and Coach for The Alternative Board in Derby and East Midlands Central.

He has over 20 years of leadership and management experience gained within the private and third sectors.

Jimi has an established record of leading and delivering strategic projects in the print & packaging industry and leading and influencing change the third sector. Following his career change from IT Manager for a large global print business to strategic lead for Leadership Development in a large national charity, Jimi coached and supported CEOs, Chairs and Senior Leaders in multi-million pound charities across the UK.

He has also led a regional charity through a time of significant change, leading the business through strategic development, cultural change and process improvements leading to growth and sustainability.

Jimi has, for the past four years, run a successful consultancy business working with both private and large third-sector businesses. He has been running TAB boards for three years – in line with his personal vision to enable others to achieve their full potential. This, combined with his leadership and business skills brings lasting benefits to TAB members and business owners in the East Midlands.

Julian is a Facilitator and Coach for The Alternative Board Derby in Derby and East Midlands Central.

Julian joined TAB in March 2010, developed his business extremely well and in line with his personal vision successfully concluded a sale of his franchise to Max Crosby-Browne at the end of 2019. Julian developed 5 Peer Boards in Derby with members from a broad cross section of industries including retail, marketing, manufacturing, and accountancy and training companies.

Julian remains involved with TAB and supports members in Max’s territory

He has an extensive breadth of knowledge gained from working with large Corporate Plc’s as well as a number of SME’s. His 35 years of experience includes significant commercial, general management and overseas roles.

Julian’s career has involved time spent in the textiles, print, creative design, consultancy and packaging industries and his particular skill and knowledge base relates to sales and marketing, brand development, strategic planning and change management. He has an eye on the ‘big picture’ and lead and managed business units of multi-discipline teams up to £100m turnover with 3000 employees as well as a team of less than 10 in an SME.

Julian’s career started with the Coats Viyella Group where he worked his way through the management ranks to become a Managing Director by the age of 29. 15 years ago, Julian decided on a career change and worked with SMEs across a number of industries, successfully developing sales teams and winning strategies for business development.

Julian’s engaging style, leadership acumen, and the ability to challenge the status quo has ensured success for all the teams he has worked in and is what triggered his focus and commitment towards business coaching.

Julian has a passion for people and the improvement of their personal and business lives and believes that The Alternative Board provides a unique, dynamic and challenging environment supported by a number of outstanding business development tools to ensure a business can fulfil its potential and deliver the rewards for the owner that he or she deserve.

Phil is a Partner, Facilitator and Coach for The Alternative Board in Derby and East Midlands Central.

He has many years’ experience in management having started and built a £20 million pound business in the food sector employing over 100 people, supplying the major ready meals manufacturers in the UK.  He has direct experience of developing export markets all over the world including markets in the middle and far east.

Following the sale of this business to a major Scottish food group, Phil set up and developed a trading operation for an established food company growing sales to £5 million over a 5-year period and was responsible for recruiting and managing the sales team.

A change of career led to the purchase of a printing.com franchise in Nottingham. Phil experienced all the facets of running a small business, employing and training his team, marketing, business development, networking, managing the finances, paying the bills, and more often than not, working evenings and weekends as many small business owners do.

In 2015 Phil took the opportunity to re-enter the corporate world by taking a role as Commercial Manager for a marine engineering company. This involved using many of the marketing skills he had acquired in his previous role as well as managing the sales accounts the company held with some of the world’s biggest companies, including Royal Dutch Shell. His other duties included managing the design and build of the exhibition stands for the company at some of the largest international trade fairs.

Having experienced management at many levels, Phil understands how running a business can be a lonely task and one where there is often very little support available. Phil is passionate about helping business owners solve their problems, grow their businesses and achieve a better work life balance.

“Either you run the day – or the day runs you”  Jim Rohn

Phil Dobson is a Partner, Facilitator and Business Coach for The Alternative Board in Derby and East Midlands.

Phil’s background is in management within SMEs and continues as a Director of a local business.

He has over thirty years of sales and business management experience along with strong leadership, organisation, planning and people skills developed during time spent working in the manufacturing and distribution sectors both as senior manager and shareholder positions.

Phil spent 5 years as a member of TAB himself, working towards both his business and personal vision. Phil has experienced all of the highs and lows faced when starting and growing a new business and knows how difficult it can be to achieve balance and personal fulfilment alongside success.

As a longstanding member of The Alternative Board, Phil sees the support, advice and guidance from his coach and peers as critical to the progress of his business and personal development and is now eager to be able to offer that same support to other business owners in his community.

Phil also supports local charities in the area with 10 years in the Round Table, helping to raise over 100K for good causes.  His new-found work/life balance allows him to enjoy more time with his family and to indulge in his love of outdoor pursuits.