Meet Our Advisors

Richard Hopkinson
Executive Director
Richard’s career has spanned operational roles in Oil and Gas with BP and Tullow Oil, and Management Consulting positions with ‘Big 4’, Technology and niche consultancies. Richard’s primary focus is Procurement & Supply Chain Management. His sector experience also includes Power & Utilities, Aviation, Logistics, Life Sciences and other industries.

Jim Walsh
Senior Specialist Consultant
Jim is a specialist in Local Content and In-Country Value. Jim works with clients to build capability in their local supply markets in developing and emerging economies. With deep sector experience in Oil, Agriculture and Logistics, Jim has made a key contribution to clients and their local suppliers in India, Africa and the Middle East.

Tim Burnell
Director
Tim has over 25 years of experience in Branding and Marketing at senior levels in the Advertising, Banking and Aviation sectors. Based in the UAE, he has perspectives and insights gained from working with leading marketeers and brand agencies globally. Tim brings imagination and experience as well as access to a wide network of expertise.

Nick Mariott
Senior Specialist Consultant
Nick is a Procurement and Supply Chain specialist with expertise across a range of categories. He brings deep knowledge in the Aviation sector with nearly 20 years at senior levels in Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways where he has been responsible for leading teams of 20 people and managing over $500m of spend. Nick is adept at developing procurement and sourcing strategies for both direct and indirect categories, developing teams to achieve goals, and integrating partner procurement synergies. Nick has a track record of driving cost savings and has a strong commercial orientation. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Enegra Group Limited.

Anthony Bates
Director
Anthony has over 25 years experience in Legal roles and is currently the General Counsel and Head of Government Relations of Adidas Emerging Markets based out of Dubai and is a Board Director at Seapoint Consulting. His sector experience covers Media, Bio-tech and Automotive. He has been responsible for management of legal affairs, providing legal, commercial and strategic advice to various businesses including Start-Ups and established companies expanding operations in emerging markets

James White
Director
James has over 18 years’ experience in the energy industry working on numerous international projects in both the Oil and Gas and Renewable sectors. A natural leader who strives for technical excellence with the ability to integrate large and varied datasets in multi-disciplined high performing teams. A geophysicist by background James has held numerous leadership roles and can translate complex technical concepts to a tech and non tech audience. He has a track record of building relationships, trust and engaging with senior stakeholders alongside a collaborative approach when working cross functionally.