A brief summary of my experience

1. Dr Colin Gruar – BSc (Hons); MBA; DBA
Colin specialises in helping organisations respond to market driven change. His diverse
career includes a combination of Operations Management, Business Development, Sales
and Marketing skills at board level in the Manufacturing; Financial Services; Energy,
Recruitment and Not for Profit sectors. He started his career as a design engineer living in
France and Sweden, and then moved into Sales & Marketing, covering Europe, Middle
East and Africa. He headed up the successful re-engineering of NatWest’s retail banking
network and went on to run some of the UK’s largest B2B sales forces at PowerGen Plc
and Manpower Plc. As Marketing Director for the British Heart Foundation, Colin was
the architect of one of the UK’s most successful ‘social marketing’ campaigns (fatty
cigarette) which used innovative marketing techniques to win over 17 international
awards.
Colin holds a BSc (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering; as well as an MBA (for which
he received the KPMG top student award) and a Doctor of Business Administration
(DBA) from Cranfield School of Management. His doctorate studied how organisations
develop coherent brands across their increasingly complex and demanding stakeholder
communities. He now runs his own consultancy business, is an Associate of Cranfield
School of Management and Henley College of Management. He is also a visiting fellow
at Nottingham Business School. He delivers tailored Executive Education programmes in
Marketing Innovation; Leadership and Change; expert advice in the area of Corporate
Brand and Reputation; and is a professional coach and mentor to a number of senior
executives.
In his spare time, Colin is a passionate sailor and has crossed many of the world’s oceans,
including the notorious Southern Ocean (via Cape Horn). He is an avid follower of F1
and a keen cyclist and runner. He is married and lives in England with his wife. Together
they have 3 grown up children.