Ashley Cavers joins as lead Network Navigator, heading up the team, and Grae Laws and Lesley Mckie join existing navigators Sam Hampton and Bernard Goodchild.
The team boasts a wealth of experience in supporting people who are thinking of starting up a business or want to see their business grow.
The Network Navigators are just one of the ways that OxLEP Business offers support to SMEs via the ELEVATE programme, their role is complimented by a series of workshops and the opportunity to apply for an ELEVATE grant.
Ashley experienced OxLEP Business’s support first- hand, after setting up ‘The Wonky Food Company’ with brother John and friend Laura Snook. Ashley received support from a Network Navigator and attended a number of workshops and has seen her own start-up go from strength-to-strength.
Grae has been running a business consultancy firm for the past five years, helping start-ups and SMEs through facilitation, problem solving and signposting to partner agencies. He specialises in business model creation, resource efficiency and workplace energising.
Lesley has had a long career in business, including within a large corporate consultancy, and is enthusiastic about working with entrepreneurs. As a non-digital-native, she is passionate about integrating new social media channels into business marketing; taking a pragmatic approach to helping businesses achieve their goals.
Helen Brind, Growth Hub Manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ashley, Grae and Lesley to our team. They each bring a huge amount of experience and specialisms to OxLEP Business. It’s fantastic to have such a strong team of five Business Support experts for us to work with to strengthen Oxfordshire’s thriving SME community.”