Alan gained over 25 years' business experience as an entrepreneur nationally and internationally. He founded, co-founded or invested in four businesses, each of which was sold or turned around successfully; he piloted two through the recessions of 1979-82 and 1990-92.

On leaving school Alan was a drummer in a rock band and after three years left to start a sound system rental company. He went on to become MD of professional audio manufacturing company Turbosound and worked all over the world setting up and growing an international distribution network. For several years he was based in New York as President of the US distribution arm; this contributed to the company winning the Queen's Award for Export Achievement, the first in its field to do so.

He then worked with 3i in their MBI programme, which led to him becoming Joint MD of Scher International. He worked with hospitality and foodservice clients such as Hilton, Café Rouge, Marriott, Pret A Manger and Whitbread, measuring, advising and training them around customer service quality. While there, he developed the UK's first Customer Service Benchmark for Hotels, for which he was awarded a Fellowship of the Institute of Hospitality.

Later on Alan built up his own successful coaching and consulting business which integrated with Shirlaws in 2007. His experience and skills enable him to drive depth and rigour into business transformation. During current economic conditions, Alan's focus is on helping his clients maximise operational efficiency, sharpen their market positioning, and build capacity while keeping overheads under tight control.

Alan is a proud father and when time allows enjoys connecting with his passion of playing the drums. He is an avid football fan (modesty forbids him mentioning which team), and enjoys hiking, skiing and scuba diving.

Contact Alan