FLUX 2008 | Win £500! | The largest student enterprise and employability competition in the UK | FLUX500.com | Formerly Yomping The Nations

What Students Say:

What Experts Say:

The Experts

Here you can read up on some of the FLUX experts who may just be giving you a helping hand in this year's competition.

Sufiyan Rana (Azmi-Rana Solicitors)

www.azmirana.com

Sufiyan Rana

Sufiyan is a partner at Azmi-Rana Solicitors based in Cheetham, Manchester - a two partner practice that specializes in Conveyancing, Insolvency, Immigration, Litigation and Personal Injury. He practises as a Solicitor Advocate in Litigation and Personal Injury. There are over 100,000 solicitors but only about 2500-3500 Solicitor Advocates. Solicitor Advocates have the same qualifications as Barristers although they don't wear a wig (which he suspects is a benefit!)

Sufiyan graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with an Upper Second Class honours degree in Law in 1997 and was vice president of the Student Law Society (1996-1997). He undertook the Bar Vocational Course at the College of Law, London, and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's inn in November 1999. He undertook pupillage at 2 Middle Temple Lane chambers, London, before qualifying as a Solicitor in January 2002. Sufiyan went on to obtain Higher Rights of Audience for both Civil and Criminal proceedings in February 2004.

Sufiyan is also an LEA governor of Plant Hill Community School, North Manchester and sits on its pupil discipline committee and he is currently chairman of the Public Voice on Policing for North Manchester.

Sufiyan counts reading, football and traveling as part of his hobbies.

Gonzalo Trujillo (Global Renewables)

Gonzalo is currently CFO for Global Renewables, a leading developer of environmental infrastructure projects in the UK.

After becoming a chartered accountant, Gonzalo pusued an international career across Europe before his passion for growing businesses and technology brought him back to the UK. Here, he played an pivotal role in one of the most successful AIM listings of 2002. Gonzalo has been founder and initial investor in award winning start ups where he continues to participate with his experience in finance and strategic management.

Gonzalo graduated from Brunel University in 1994 with a degree in engineering and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers and Lybrand in 1997.

He enjoys the outdoors and has a fervent passion for creative foods.

Steve Smith (Finance Wales)

www.financewales.co.uk

Steve Smith

Steve joined Finance Wales in September 2006 from his previous role as head of Research and Development funding within the Technology and Innovation Group of the former Welsh Development Agency.

Phew.

Before that he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Glamorgan and ranted on about product design and manufacturing technology to students.

He's a chartered mechanical engineer and spent his early years in process and systems development with Wiggins Teape Plc.

Jane Middleton (B2b Plc)

Jane Middleton Jane is the MD of b2b plc (brokers 2 brokers plc) which provides a free web-based distribution platform for retail insurance brokers.

Following an honours degree at uni, Jane entered the merchant banking arena on a fast-track Ops Management scheme at Chase Manhattan Bank in Manhattan. On returning to the UK, business development and delivery work was undertaken for a software company before becoming the General Manager for a telecoms billing company.

Wine, sport and a good laugh are the three things which keep her sane.

Delia Butler (Ology Business)

www.ologybusiness.com

Delia Butler has more than 20 years experience of working with business owners. She has spent most of those years with KPMG in Manchester and London working with a huge range of clients from billion-dollar PLCs to one-man bands on a wide variety of scenarios – management buyouts, acquisitions, restructurings and refinancing as well as the normal customer service to clients. She is an experienced man-manager and has many years involvement in recruitment, coaching and team-building. Good for you lot then eh?

Delia now works for Ology as a Business Coach where she's able to use her wide experience to help her clients resolve their frustrations in business and move them forward to get the business they always wanted.

Jacky Misson (Nido Marketing)

www.nidomarketing.co.uk

Jacky Misson

Jacky is the founding director of Nido Marketing - a Brighton based business-to-business telemarketing consultancy. The company specialises in verbal communications to deliver intelligent, highly flexible and very effective telemarketing. The company also advises and trains its clients on how to get the most out of telemarketing.

Jacky got the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Sussex Business Awards in 2005/2006, gained Investors in People accreditation in September 2005 and won Best Place to Work 2006 in the Brighton and Hove Business Awards.

Her most important achievement has been growing a business from a £1500 loan from the Prince’s Trust, to having 10 employees and a £300,000 turnover in 4 years.

In her spare time Jacky enjoys spending time with her husband (not at work!), walking her dog, Yoga, reading, cooking for friends, good wine, films and holidays.

Emma Binns (Enterprise Rent-a-Car)

www.erac.com

Emma Binns Emma graduated from the University of Leicester in 1999 with a BA in French and Politics, and joined Enterprise Rent-a-Car on their Graduate Management Scheme. Her first 18 months with the company were spent in the Leeds and Newcastle branches, learning all the skills associated with running a business. (Something to do with sales, marketing, management and accounting.)

Emma now oversees the training and development needs of all the staff in the North of England, including how many biscuits make a workforce productive. She also concentrates on developing relationships and prospecting for further business with some large national accounts that she looks after.

Outside of work, Emma enjoys the gym, walking, shopping and is partial to the odd glass of Pinot.

Stephen King (Creativity Matters)

www.creativitymatters.co.uk

Steve Kind Since leaping out of the corporate world in 1998, and not the novel-writing one, Stephen has built a number of businesses from start-up. His current venture is Creativity Matters, a business that helps turn creativity into cash, though he remains the majority shareholder of his previous venture fduk, (nothing to do with cool clothes unfortunately) which provides part-time finance directors to ambitious businesses.

He's a Chartered Accountant, has an MBA from Warwick Business School and is a co-author of 'Finance on a Beermat’, a best-selling book that demystifies all aspects of finance for start-ups and SMEs (or Small and Medium Enterprises to you and me).

Ioan Evans (Catapult IT & Business Solutions)

www.catapultsolutions.co.uk

Ioan Evans is the founder and Managing Director of Catapult IT & Business Solutions which he set up in March 2004. Many small businesses can rarely afford to pay a full time IT member of staff, which is where Catapult come in, a fully serviced IT department at a fraction of the cost. Their clients range from small businesses with 1 – 10 staff, right up to larger global organisations.

As a graduate of Computer Science from Aberystwyth University, Ioan had always wanted to start his own business, so that’s what he did.

Andy McDougall (Central Telecom)

www.central-telecom.co.uk

Andy McDougall Andrew McDougall is CEO and MD of Central Telecom – one of Burton’s largest employers employing over 250 staff nationwide. Central Telecom was founded in 1985 and is now widely regarded as one of the UK’s most successful integrated communications specialists.

Over the past 21 years, the company has grown from a small, family-run systems provider to market leader with more than 4,000 customers and 750,000 end users, ranging from SME’s, to blue-chip and public sector organisations.

Lisa Tse (Sweet Mandarin)

www.sweetmandarin.com

Lisa Tse is the first British born Chinese radio presenter and her programme Talk Asia is her debut show on Asian Sound Radio on 1377AM. She worked as a finance analyst for Thomson Financial plc in London. Since then, she has returned to Manchester to open her own business and put into practice what she learnt.

Her passions are food, business and people which have propelled Lisa and her two sisters, Helen and Janet Tse to open an award winning restaurant, Sweet Mandarin in Manchester. Lisa has also appeared on ITV Granada, BBC, radio and featured in numerous press and magazine articles on topics ranging from women in business, food, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, immigration, nationality, Chinese culture and investing in China. Quite a lot then.

Sarah Walmsley (we{do} Business)

www.wedobusiness.co.uk

Sarah Walmsley works as a business liaison officer for Preston City Council. Her main role is to visit businesses, research any problems they face and find assistance suitable to help with it.

Sarah has also had her own Glass Blowing business and has learnt through experience about the ups and downs of running a small business.

Sarah was educated at UCLAN gaining a BA Hons in 3D design and visual communication, and has also been on various courses linked to Entrepreneurship and business. The most recent being an intensive 2 week course at Babson College in Boston Massachusetts, USA.

Outside of work Sarah is a keen climber and also enjoys a good walk in the hills.