Red Ochre consists of core team and a group of associate consultants bringing specific expertise to each of our projects.
Uday Thakkar | Managing Director
Areas of Expertise: Strategic development, change management skills development, finance and funding, marketing, governance, collabroative working, legal structures, business planning, organisational development, enterprise start up and development, training and facilitation.
Background: Uday is a Chartered Accountant by training. He has worked in management consultancy for over 20 years across the UK and in Africa. He is also a social entrepreneur having started and successfully managed a number of commercial businesses, a charity and two social enterprises. Uday has won the Social Enterprise Mentor of the Year Award and is a regular and popular speaker at conferences and seminars on enterprise, leadership, governance and finance. Uday delivers more than 30 workshops a year on a variety of subjects annually and regularly draws large audiences to them. Uday is a regular contributor to the print and electronic media and is a well known exponent of sustainability and social enterprise. Uday is a trustee of a number charities that work with health, the arts and governance.
His clients like: His ability to think creatively, his vision and practical and solution-focused approach; his passion; commitment and energy; the time he gives to listen; his insight and perception; the gentle but needle-sharp challenging; his extensive networks and connections. Most alarmingly he is well known, not only for his ability to make figures and finance understandable, but fun!
His colleagues like: His passion to improve society; the whacky Christmas card designs; his ability to draw out the best in a person; his positive encouragement of individual interests; the dinners discussing world issues.
He likes: Music of all sorts but particularly jazz, good books, even better food, cinema, theatre, travel, taking on new challenges, dreaming.
His motto: Vision, passion and focussed action can change the world – but it’s best done with a smile!
Robert Foster | Co-Founder, Trainer and Senior Consultant
Areas of Expertise: Strategic planning; social enterprise and trading options; impact and evaluation; marketing and marketing communications; tendering, commissioning and procurement; project management
Background: Robert spent several years in the commercial sector working for big and small companies, local outfits and multi-nationals. He set up and ran his own commercial organisation and then decided there must be more to life and business than “this”.
Now Robert enjoys being nosey and opinionated in the social sector. Being able to get to know people, organisations and problems and then helping to sort things out keeps him young.
He advises and consults with local authorities, infrastructure bodies, and third sector and social enterprises to help them achieve their aims.
His clients like: His ability to understand, simplify and solve their problems
His colleagues like: That he’s in touch with his inner child
He likes: Living life as best he can
His motto: “Strive for perfection, settle for excellence” Someone clever
Penelope Daly | Director
Areas of Expertise: Organisational development, Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring, Training and Facilitating, Consortiums and Partnerships, Community Engagement, Governance, Project management, Business start-ups and enterprise development, Strategic planning
Background : Born and raised in Zambia, Penny has worked in the Middle East, Africa, S America and the UK for a variety of international businesses, academic and government agencies, charities and social enterprises. She has also set up her own businesses so has hands-on experience of both the excitement and the stress that comes with being a business founder. She has won awards for her work with women and for mentoring programmes. Penny continues to travel with her work and often visits her cows in Africa.
Her clients like: her empathy, energy, ‘edginess’, intuition, integrity
Her colleagues like: her EQ, diligence, access to museum and theatre tickets
She likes: Travelling and interacting with people from different cultures; walking up mountains to see what lies beyond; yoga; Sunday suppers with her family.
Her motto: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”Harriet Tubman
Anne-Helene Teyssedre | Senior Consultant
Areas of Expertise: Strategic planning, Income generation strategies, Business plan, Organisational development, Mergers and Partnership, Project management, Research and evaluation
Background : After studying and working all around the world for the non-profit, public and private sector, Anne-Helene decided to “drop her luggage” in the leading country of social entrepreneurship! Anne-Helene is an experienced consultant, researcher and evaluator. She has worked with a wide range of public and private sector organisations on strategic planning and income generation strategies, organisational development and evaluation matters.
Her clients like: her pro-activity, her professionalism and approachability
Her colleagues like: her “frenchisms”, her friendliness and team spirit, her contesting spirit!
She likes: French food, Friday drinks with her colleagues, travelling all around, skiing, India (except for its spicy food…)
Her motto: “A day without laughing is a day wasted.” Charlie Chaplin
Contact Anne-Helene Teyssedre.
Martin Cooper |
Areas of Expertise: Social enterprise visit programmes, understanding impact, measurement and evaluation, research and publications, training, support and facilitation, stakeholder engagement.
Background :
As a freelancer, Martin worked with organisations such as nef (new economics foundation) and School for Social Entrepreneurs and established a small fair trade t shirt company. He also goofed off, worried about money and practiced pilates. At Red Ochre, life is more stable and he has led a number of evaluations from technical undertakings to holistic personal support to help individuals and organisations understand their impact and the work that they do. He is now making impact the focus of our social enterprise and civil society visit programmes.
He likes: Tai chi and chi gung; chai tea and hot drinks; tooting along in a band (saxophone), shamanism; meditation; Sardinia; dancing; travelling; London; a pint in an old pub.
His motto: I don’t have one. But I’m currently mulling on this from Ram Dass:
“There’s much more in any given moment than we usually perceive, and that we ourselves are much more than we usually perceive. When you know that, part of you can stand outside the drama of your life.”
Anna Turner | Office & Events Manager
Background: Anna previously worked at CAN Mezzanine offices including working at TimeBank, Community Action Network (CAN) and Huntington’s Disease Association before joining Red Ochre in 2007. Anna was born and raised in South East London.
Anna is the cornerstone of Red Ochre.
What do clients like about Anna: Her friendliness, efficiency, making them feel special and that they matter, approachability and her well organised events.
What do her colleagues like about Anna: Always smiling, her sense of fun and ability to laugh at her herself, the fact that she likes to move Red Ochre offices, her talent at keeping Uday’s diary in semi-control, her funny stories, her hard work/work ethic, her stoicism and her goalkeeping football skills.
She likes: Live music, festivals, going to the theatre, photography and art, travel, friendship, putting sunglasses and hats on her dog.
