Our team

Red Ochre consists of core team and a group of associate consultants bringing specific expertise to each of our projects.

Uday Thakkar | Managing Director

Uday Thakkar

Areas of Expertise: Strategic development, change management skills development, finance and funding, marketing, governance, collaborative 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!

Read Uday’s blog here.

Listen to Uday here.

See Uday in action here, here and here.

Contact Uday Thakkar.

Robert Foster | Co-Founder, Trainer and Senior Consultant

Robert Foster

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.

Read about Robert in the press: social enterprise and investment in China, social innovation in Estonia and social impact and enterprise in the RSA Journal. Read a review of Robert speaking at the 2015 SE Conference on London here, and Robert’s work in Indonesia 2019-2020 here.

Read Robert’s Blog here, and also he’s written articles for other organisations:

Listen to Robert here.

Watch Robert speaking here, here and here.

Contact Robert Foster.

Martin Cooper | Associate

Martin Cooper

Areas of Expertise: European projects; international social enterprise; social impact measurement.

Martin set up and manages our Erasmus Plus programmes. He helped 60 young people experience the green economy through Skills for Green Jobs before winning funding and running the current programme, Teach Seville.

He loves hosting international groups of people wanting to experience social enterprise in London and the UK through visit programmes and tours.

Background: Before moving to an Associate role, Martin spent several years as a Senior Consultant at Red Ochre,  leading 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 ran (and still runs) social enterprise and civil society visit programmes for international groups.

He likes:  Tai chi; chai tea and hot drinks; tooting along in a band (saxophone), shamanism; 5 rhythms; Sardinia; travelling; London; a pint in an old pub.

His motto: I don’t have one. But i remind myself of this:

“There’s much more in any given moment than we usually perceive, and we ourselves are much more than we usually perceive. When you know that, part of you can stand outside the drama of your life.” Ram Dass

Say hello on Linkedin

Twitter: @coopsmartin

Email: Martin Cooper.

Phil Tulba | Associate

Phil MiiAreas of Expertise: Phil has wide experience of supporting innovation in health and public sector service. He has also worked with managers to implement practical and effective solutions to improve planning, management and performance.

Background: A social enterprise professional who started his career with a homeless charity, Phil moved to Sports Social Enterprise Development Manager for Social Enterprise East Midlands and has also previously worked for The Young Foundation as Social Entrepreneur in Residence and Enterprise UK as Head of Social Enterprise.

Phil is a SFEDI accredited social enterprise and business advisor and works with Red Ochre on a range or projects and assignments both in the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Phil is a director and vice-chairman of Adrenaline Alley, Europe’s largest BMX and skatepark based in Corby, Northamptonshire.

He likes: Phil’s interests are as broad and varied as his upbringing: one of 21 children, born in Sudan and an international athlete. Having come to Britain at six he grew up on a council estate and eventually worked his way into university and has a Master’s degree in Information Technology.

Contact Phil Tulba