Clients

LM Wind Power

LM Wind Power is the largest producer of quality blades for wind turbines in the world operating out of Amsterdam and Denmark with plants in Denmark, Poland, Spain, India, China, USA, Canada and Brasil. Ian worked since June 2009 as the CCO of LM Wind Power and starting in 2014, moved to be a consultant on a part time basis (retained for one week per month for 2014), focusing on some commercial issues in Brasil. His time with LM ended December 2015.

Axiall - at the intersection of chemistry and progress

Axiall operates worldwide out of an HQ in Atlanta, USA.   zapfactory assisted senior management as part of a due diligence team at the start of 2015, linked to a large M&A deal.

​Axiall is a new leader in the chemistry sector, with holdings and expertise in chlor-alkali and chlorovinyl materials. It provides a breadth of chemistries and derivatives essential to the creation of a vast array of consumer, professional, and industrial products and applications

ProVitaTech - ideas that save lives

ProVitaTech is a start-up company in Zürich, owned by Philip Mächler-Dent, a robotics entrepreneur. zapfactory is assisting in the launch strategy, marketing mix and manufacturing negotiations of their first product, an innovative aqua life-saving device, due in the shops during 2016.

Alfie & Bella - pet supplies, retail & grooming in SW England

Alfie & Bella is a successful niche retail business based in Bristol, with a loyal & expanding customer base. zapfactory offered strategic advice on the next stage of Alfie and Bella's expansion plans involving premise expansion, extra service offerings and eCommerce activities.

RocketPod LLP.

RocketPod is a digital technology consultancy, which utilises agile methodologies to develop software that rapidly generates value for its clients by enabling them to better connect with their customers over the web and improve their internal processes by utilising bespoke software solutions.

RocketPod has a successful track record of implementing tailor-made interactive solutions, using open source software, to build platforms and intuitive interfaces that simplify user interactions and lower business costs. RocketPod works independently or in tandem with the client’s internal resources, focusing on the high quality retail, medical and financial client base in the South West and is now expanding across the UK.

Ian is Chairman of the advisory board of RocketPod LLP, along with Tony Morrish (TayMor consulting) and Ian Lewis (Laurus Partners)

Order in Chaos

Leadership and management training run by Simon Hall OBE, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines and Special Forces with 30 years diverse experience,  including leadership on operations, the Low's Gully Rescue Mission in Borneo and a successful ascent of Mount Everest. 

Order in Chaos is a systems thinking approach, which focuses on the leadership-strategy-organizational design nexus with the aim of optimizing people and organizations to embrace uncertainty in complex environments.  Ian is advising Order in Chaos and combining his >30 years business experience in order to provide a compelling multi discipline approach.

Deloitte

During 2008 and 2009, Ian worked as an associate of Deloitte LLP of the UK with 3 of their large (>$1 billion revenue) clients advising in 4 different locations (UK, Switzerland, Germany and USA), specifically around supply chain and sourcing issues. Ian was embedded with the local Deloitte team and worked closely with the CEO and direct report levels, as well as the various Deloitte partners. In all 3 cases, his advice led to the firm gaining further business to complete the engagement based on some of his recommendations. Now free from LM Wind Power, Ian has again been asked, starting 2014, to help the Deloitte UK team to bid for business. He has been involved with bids for logistics and sourcing engagements, mainly with European based clients.

Oerlikon Balzers

Working with product managers at Balzers in 90`s to change positioning and overhaul of web presence (text, image, strategy). Working with other Balzers consultants to finalise and deliver their communications strategy.

Borderless

Founded in 2000, Borderless is a retainer-based, executive search firm and leadership consultancy, operating globally in petrochemicals, life sciences and food processing. Kate worked for Borderless as one of their search consultants between 2006 and 2010 and placed several high level executives in large global companies, mainly in Europe and the USA.

 

NiTech Solutions

zapfactory is in the process of being established as an agent for NiTech equipment in Europe.

Founded by Professor Ni (Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland), NiTech designs and manufactures high performance continuous flow chemical production equipment, which is generally more efficient, lower cost, greener and safer than batch production. The advantages of NiTech equipment are that through the use of patented oscillation methodology, the mixing is better and higher solids can be processed.

Typical customers are in the pharma industry, producing APIs (advanced pharmaceutical intermediates). 

Bloomberg

Bloomberg New Energy Finance is a subsidiary of the Bloomberg group specialising in data and research for renewables. Ian was a regular attendee at Bloomberg events and has spoken or been a panel member at those events in Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Beijing

Goodridge

Goodridge (a UK based company with global manufacturing bases) has one of the best names in the high end, performance car and motorbike industry as a producer of high quality piping systems for hydraulics and brake systems. They sell to Formula 1 and Nascar teams, as well as supercar manufacturers.

Ian was particularly helpful in the area of product positioning and channels to market. His proven knowledge of how to establish manufacturing in China and win financing was also extremely helpful.

IMD business school

IMD in Lausanne Switzerland is consistently rated as one of the top 10 business schools in the world, with a blue chip MBA program and many executive education programs. Kate and Ian have attended several courses on business, eCommerce and the OWP (Orchestrating Winning Performance) program. Ian is an alumni of IMD, but also has a case history written around his efforts to develop an online B2B web business, called e-epoxy.com in 2000 and 2001. This case history is taught all around the world to entrepreneurs and MBA classes and Ian is regularly asked to attend IMD and other business schools to add `spice`to the taught lesson.

Tandem

Tandem is a specialist multilingual education company running 3 schools for pre-K, Kindergarten and junior school aged children up to Grade 6, in the Zürich area. Ian was hired as a consultant to run the schools in 2009 during the temporary absence of its founder and lead. He also advised the board on marketing strategy and web presence, which contributed to the school`s increased profitability in that same year.

Customer Value Management GmbH - CVM€

CVM€ (previously know as MarketAbility) is a niche marketing consultancy run by Phil Allen out of Wädenswil (near Zürich). Ian has spoken at several events and made a film specifically about eCommerce and on line merchandising.

 

 

University of St. Gallen (MBA)

Hoch Schule St.Gallen (or HSG) in Eastern Switzerland is one of the top European business schools and runs a prestigious MBA program. Ian has been invited several times to speak to MBA students and facilitate case history discussions, specifically to do with entrepreneurship, green energy and doing business in China.