CMI South West

Martin Beckwith ACMI

Martin is an experienced leader, coach and mentor. He is passionate about developing people and businesses, enabling them to move forward and reach their potential. Martin is recognised for his ability to bring simple, elegant solutions to complex problems. He has a strong focus on the customer, aligning the needs of stakeholders and a strong reputation for developing new ideas that add value.

Martin has held several board positions, played key roles in merging business areas and delivered a number of major change programmes, including two market leading customer propositions. After 20 years working directly with businesses, Martin moved to become a project manager before working as Chief Operating Officer for the Commercial Banking
sales network. Martin has also led service and contact centre operations successfully and developed rectification and complaint management programmes.

Described as authentic and inspirational, Martin is respected for his subtle yet strong leadership. His is conceptual, reflective, influential, tenacious and realistic, adept at turning round difficult situations. Expect to be challenged and supported.

Engaged in the community, Martin has lectured on banking law; how to start up in business and succeed with your bank; and has worked with students on career development in the digital industries.

Terry Corby CMgr CCMI

News this summer at the CMI is that Terry Corby has been appointed as Chairman of the South-West Regional Board.  Terry knows the region and its challenges and opportunities well. He has lived in Cornwall for the past 20 years and has spent a career in growing businesses large and small. Today he combines a career that includes Interim CEO/CMO roles, with his NED roles and is also a professional coach to several CEOs and senior executives. He is currently towards the end of an assignment as Interim Group Marketing Director at Medacs Global Group plc – helping them to to create a more customer-centric organisation and culture. Prior to that he was the founding CEO at the successful healthcare workforce start-up – Ryalto. He was also a partner at the growth and innovation consultancy, The Foundation. In Cornwall, he also took on a leadership role at the Eden Project – where he helped set up an Advisory Service for business and government focusing on re-imagination, inspiration and insight.

As a change leader, Terry is at his best when helping boards or organisations lead and work through significant change. His experience in senior executive roles spans 25 years at KPMG, Accenture, American Express and Sainsbury’s. Terry served as a Partner on the UK Board of KPMG with annual revenues of £1.7bn and 11,000 employees. Before that, Terry was a Partner and a member of the UK Executive Board of Accenture UK & Ireland, a 12,000 employee organisation with annual revenues of £2bn.

Terry also served for several years as a Board Director at the government funded agency, South West Screen (now part of Creative England) and as Chairman of the Cornwall Film & Television Board, both dedicated to the development of the creative media sector. Terry was also a Founding Director of The Talent Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation focused on helping individuals and businesses develop through human talent. In Cornwall, he is a Governor of Truro School and also Chair of Governors at Roselyon School. In addition, Terry is a Non-Executive Director of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust – with its 10 museums and 35 historical sites.

Terry’s Board responsibilities have involved leading major transformation and change – both within organisations and in repositioning their brands within the marketplace and with clients. His experience includes global responsibility for marketing, business development, reputation, communications, culture and employee engagement, research and knowledge management. He also led the development of thought leadership at Accenture for over 10 years and initiated the High Performance program of research that has been at the core of Accenture’s market positioning.

Terry is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the promotion of Arts, Merchandising & Commerce (FRSA); a Fellow of the Strategic Planning Society (FStratP); and became a Companion of the CMI in 2006.

Lois Farquharson CMgr FCMI

Dr Lois Farquharson is Executive Dean at Bournemouth University Business School. She is an experienced leader with a demonstrated background in the higher education sector and business engagement. Skilled in leading and managing change and organisational development, Lois believes in the value of positivity, appreciative inquiry and kindness in dynamic organisation/industry contexts.

Lois has undertaken research and knowledge exchange projects focused on these areas with various organisations including the NHS, IiP Scotland, Police Service, Higher Education Institutions and small businesses.

As a strong professional, Lois is a Chartered Fellow of the CMI, an Academic Fellow of the CIPD, and is certified to deliver the Strengths Deployment Inventory (TotalSDI) to support individual and team growth.

Denis Lindsay CMgr FCMI

Denis has extensive senior leadership experience in the IT industry. For over 20 years he has been involved in global programmes, mainly focusing on business-critical transformation and technology change, in well-known multinational companies. These include large multinationals across many sectors including oil & gas, FMCGs and the Music industry.

Denis is currently a Partner of Cambridge Management Consulting and is a member of their Senior Leadership Team. Cambridge Management Consulting is a specialist consultancy with an emphasis on digital transformation. They add value to any business attempting to scale by combining capabilities such as marketing acceleration, digital innovation, talent acquisition and procurement.

Founded in Cambridge, UK, they are a consultancy created to cope specifically with the demands of a fast-changing digital world. They are a growing organisation with offices in Cambridge, London, Paris and Tel Aviv, with consultants in nine countries, and clients all over the world.

Denis is a Non-Executive Director of Bristol Credit Union and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Black Professionals Network. He is also a strategy adviser to numerous other organisations. He has been a member of the Institute of Directors since 2004.

Denis lives in Bristol and has three dependants.

James Smith CMgr FCMI

James Smith is a Self-Employed Consultant specialising in the outdoor industry. James served for over 20 years in the Royal Navy with most of that time based here in the Southwest.

Upon leaving the Royal Navy, James set up a cycling clothing brand called Primal Europe in 2012 with his wife Judith. James became an independent consultant in 2020 whilst his wife continues to run Primal Europe.

Recently James has been guiding cycling industry brands on messaging, importing, selling through, and even launching new products into the UK including the PERRY eHopper Electric folding bicycle. He is also a monthly contributor to the cycling industry magazine “BIKEBIZ”.

James became a Fellow of the CMI in 2017 and fully used all its resources whilst studying for his Masters in Strategic Business Management. Recently he has completed his Prince2 Practitioner & MSP Foundation Courses and is an active member of the Board of the Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.

James has two daughters 17 & 22 with his oldest at Imperial College London studying Medicinal Chemistry. As a keen cyclist & runner he enjoys the outdoors whenever he can.