Who make up the team at Firm Beliefs?
Firm Beliefs Ltd is made up of a small core of key people with access to a large pool of tried and tested specialist expertise.
Sara Dixon
Sara qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and, after six years in practice as a commercial litigator, with a specific interest in environmental law, she left to study for an MBA.
Since gaining her MBA, she has been involved in helping law firms and charities enhance their profitability and effectiveness by concentrating on their clients, their people, their finances and their information systems. She also specialises in developing the business and management skills of all those who work in organisations - whether in technical and professional roles or in administrative and managerial roles.
Sara and Branko designed, developed and delivered the Lexis Nexis 'Management Skills for Lawyers' programme. Sara has also designed and delivered an International Human Resource Management and Employment Law module at the Ministry of Defence Training Academy.
She is also part of the ACEVO Consulting pool of experts.
In her spare time (!), Sara co-chairs the Finance Against Trafficking charity project which involves businesses working together to support the drive against the negative impact human trafficking makes upon business and society. She is joined by fellow Firm Beliefs folk Simon Card and John Shaw in this project.
Contact: Sara Dixon or 01296 620006
Sally Roche
Sally works closely with clients to ensure that all aspects of the working relationship with Firm Beliefs are managed as effectively as possible.
She has a background in accounting.
She has worked for various services organisations for over 11 years and there are very few situations which she cannot handle with cool aplomb!
Contact: Sally Roche or 01296 620006
Branko Sain
Branko has over 15 years experience within the marketing business worldwide and has worked with Hewlett Packard, IBM, NSPCC, British Gas and Novartis - to name a few. He brings his external focus to our clients' strategic development and adds an important element to our clients' need to operate in today's global arena. Branko's ability to converse in Slovenian, Italian, Spanish, French and English puts the rest of us to shame...
Contact: Branko Sain or 01296 620006
Matthew Arrowsmith-Brown
A former partner of Mills & Reeve, Matthew brings to the table his law firm experience and his coaching skills for the benefit of our clients. Calm, cool and immensely collected, his ability to help clients cut through the barriers to progress and confidence in their business life is second to none in our view. Even his website exudes experience, knowledge and empathy with those at the top of their game who seek to remain so.
Contact: Matthew Arrowsmith-Brown
Gareth Mason
Gareth has held the Chief Executive role in three legal service businesses and has a wealth of experience in the sector gained over the past seventeen years. His MBA is from Cranfield, one of the UK’s leading business schools.
He works mainly with partners at board level to steer strategy and resolve partnership and business issues. He is more interested in finding practical and workable answers than in fat detailed reports. Frequently projects involve a combination of finance, business development and HR. Coaching partners and senior support managers is a significant aspect of his approach so that they are better placed to be successful alone in the future.
Prior to specialising in the legal sector he gained extensive senior management experience in a number of industry sectors including construction, IT, utilities, technical design consultancy and professional management training.
He works with Firm Beliefs because 'we see the world the same way and believe that helping clients is a blend of advice and coaching (oh, and enjoyment) not merely cold advice and reports .'
Contact: Gareth Mason
Simon Card OBE
Simon has a 'portfolio' career! He is: a director of Card Associates Ltd, Chairman of SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) Corporate Cabinet, member of South East Business Development Advisory Group, Senior Associate of Smarter Networking, Advisor to Social Investment Group/Social Investment Index, Chairman of Steering Group for Reaching for Gold, Board Member Henley Business School Alumni Association, Chairman of the European Network for Bucks, Berks and Oxon, and has recently been involved with the Briefing Circle (a high-level briefing programme for directors of FTSE 250 companies and their peers in the public and not for profit sectors).
Until he formed Card Associates Simon was Head of Strategic Relations - Pan Government at BT, responsible for developing high-level relationships between the company and the UK Government. He has held a series of senior marketing and relationship management roles during his 14 years at BT both in the Global Finance and Government sectors and at Concert (the BT / AT&T Global venture). Not content with that, Simon's career has included experience of the retail sector at J Sainsbury, commodity trading and senior sales and marketing roles in the financial services sector as well as, earlier in his career, a life-enhancing year selling photocopiers!
Simon was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Political Services in the 1995 New Years Honours List.
Simon brings a no-nonsense approach to business as well as a broad range of connections and influence which he uses to help our clients develop their thinking, their networks and their successes.
There are few people who know more than Simon about many things - but he brings particularly impressive knowledge about the best places to eat and drink whilst discussing business!
Simon is chair of Ambassadors for the charity Merlin. He also provides his contacts, skills and time to the Finance Against Trafficking project, along with Sara and John.
Contact: Simon Card
John Shaw
John joins the team having spanned both public and charity sectors - like the rest of us, one sector just isn't enough! John brings considerable strategic leadership experience in senior finance and general management positions in the public and charity sectors. After a successful career with the Royal Mail he joined Oxfam in 2002 and became their Finance and IS director in 2005. He stepped down from Oxfam in summer 2009 and now has a 'portfolio career' being a charity trustee, non-executive director of a social enterprise and a management consultant. His areas of focus with clients include strategy development, organisational design and financial and risk management.
In his spare time, John mixes sport and religion - but not politics! He is a season ticket holder at Manchester United and a local preacher in the Methodist church. We make no comment about his choice of football team! John also provides his skills, contacts and time to the Finance Against Trafficking project.
Contact: John Shaw
Joanna Poulton
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Joanna has extensive experience of Chief Executive positions in barristers' chambers. Following a law degree, Joanna started her career in the City in investment banking. A spell as a management consultant, following her MBA, led her into her first Chambers in 1991 and the rest as they say is history.
Her experience within Chambers has necessarily involved her working with diverse individuals in order to bring about collective strategic and operational success. With an particular interest in corporate responsibility, Joanna focuses on how current and future demands upon the legal profession will enable improvements to culture and performance of the businesses within it. In particular, the opportunities and challenges from ABS and changing regulatory frameworks will see changes in the dynamics of the delivery of legal services.
Apart from the obvious benefits that her experience brings to Firm Beliefs clients, Joanna also leads the rest of the team from the front - be that trudging across hills and dales at a pace that would get the fittest of folk out of breath or engaging in life saving classes. A skill that also has a role in the corporate world!
Contact: Joanna Poulton
Bill Fisher
Bill has worked in the legal services sector and heath sector specialising in information and communication technologies. His focus has always been to deliver real business benefits to organisations and their staff whilst at the same time delivering innovative new ways to deliver key services. In his last role as IT director for the Norfolk and Norwich hospital for nine years he was responsible for a root and branch review of all existing IT services with a view to re-invigorate with modern technology that could compliment the achievement of the overall hospital objectives and at the same time upskill the workforce with new higher degrees of IT literacy.
For 11 years before, Bill worked in the legal services sector firstly with one of the major City of London firms then for 8 years with Mills & Reeve where he headed the IT function. During this time the legal industry was undergoing rapid change with new legislation and globalisation being the main drivers. The firms who flourished were those whom amongst other things invested heavily in creating the right IT infrastructure.
When away from work, sailing is his passion (next to his wife of course!) and he also enjoys DIY activites.
Contact: Bill Fisher
Lorraine Streatfield
Lorraine is a communications specialist with a passion for making change easier for employees and more profitable for business. Creative in her approach, Lorraine works with our clients to translate complex change into the simple and straightforward. Areas of expertise include stakeholder & audience analysis, communication strategy design and channel development.
Whether there is a need to restructure, embed new systems or processes, or bring about behavioural change; Lorraine is adept at translating business goals into communications that our clients find quite simply work.
Lorraine chills her mind with yoga and loves creating art with friends. At the weekend she has fun with the family and indulges her passion for all things vintage or eclectic!
Contact: Lorraine Streatfield
