OUR TEAM

Catherine joined the RBGS team in 2020 after gaining 21 years’ experience working within the Voluntary and Community Sector, Local Authority and Further Education. She originally joined the team as our Support Officer however she quickly became our Verification Officer dealing with all things compliance.  Catherine has also played a key role in launching our brand new bespoke website. Prior to joining us, Catherine was the Contracts and Compliance Team Leader at Northumberland College, making her the “go to gal" in answering any questions on funding and regulations. Catherine is known for her astute attention to detail, and can be relied upon for sorting our team birthdays! She loves to bake, and has promised to make us all sorts of treats when we return to office life! 

Chris is our Rural Enterprise Specialist for West Northumberland, covering Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. Chris has many years’ experience in delivering business support programmes. He joined Advance Northumberland in 2016, and previously worked on our Business Northumberland digital support programme. Chris loves to support businesses by spending time getting to know and understand the owners and their ambitions. He is our very own “Maverick” having served in the RAF all over the world. Chris can often be found sampling sweet treats; he is our go to for food recommendations!

Hannah is our newest team member joining us in January this year as a Rural Enterprise Specialist covering the entire East Northumberland coastal route from Berwick to Cramlington and everything in between. Hannah’s background is predominantly in property management, maintenance and lettings and she ran her very own company for over 10 years which she successfully sold in early 2022. Hannah knows the highs and lows of running your own business and uses her experience to great effect to help support and grow yours. Her sole mission is to make sure every eligible business in Northumberland is aware of the support on offer because she knows first-hand that is not easy to find!

Jonpaul joined us in 2020 as our Rural Enterprise Specialist for North Northumberland and has now taken on the role of Programme Manager. Jonpaul previously worked with our partner NBSL, and has many years’ experience in the business support sector. JP is known as our finance expert, having held a career in commercial banking. Not only does JP have an MBA in Business and Administration but he also sets the bar high on dress code, we’ve yet to see him in a pair of jeans! He is a basketball referee and a keen runner. 

Sarah is our Project Support Officer, mainly working on Events, PR and Marketing and spreading the good word on what the Rural Business Growth Service has to offer and raising brand awareness. Sarah joined Advance Northumberland in May 2020 (yes, in lockdown!) and transeferred to RBGS in July 2021. Previously Sarah has worked in Events, Marketing and Community roles, as well as business support, spending over 11 years in the garden centre industry-just don't ask her any gardening queries or you'll be sorely disappointed!