About us

Responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, including the identification of new sales opportunities.

After more than 20 years at BIP Dee is a proven project manager with extensive experience of working closely with a variety of funding bodies including ERDF, ESF, LSC, and both County and Local Councils and is dedicated to ensuring that BIP continue to evolve and provide a high standard of accessible and relevant business support services across the South West.

As our former MD, Stewart brings a wealth of knowledge, and practical business skills to the company. A farmer for over 30 years, Stewart has a deep understanding of the issues small businesses and farmers face. A well-respected professional, he holds several high-profile roles connected with rural organisations including the Rural Services Network, CQLP and is a member of a number of initiatives.

Responsible for contractual and administrative aspects of all contracts and company procedures, including all financial matters relating to the company.

Cathy has over 15 years management experience, with extensive knowledge of European and other funding streams together with successfully developing multi - partner projects. Cathy is responsible for the achievement and continued commitment to ISO 9001 standards.

Responsible for the marketing strategy and all marketing activities for the company, as well as developing commercial opportunities. James has over 14 years experience working for and with numerous businesses, large and small in both the B2B and B2C sectors with a wealth of knowledge across traditional and digital marketing.

Works with the Directors to support the practical delivery of contracts. She is an experienced Business Advisor, having supported BIP clients under various business support schemes.

Petra studied Hotel Management at College and went on to manage Pubs and Restaurants for Chef and Brewer before joining Trust House Forte and moving into Hotel Management. Working in such a people intensive environment provides her with the skills and experience she needs to really work with teams within businesses to achieve goals through communication and motivation.

Chris has over 30 years' experience of running his own businesses - retail, wholesale and a chain of shops. He has a wide range of expertise around retail, wholesale, family businesses, start-ups, engineering and B2B.

Chris is a good listener and quickly understands what his clients are trying to achieve, helping them to identify a practical plan on how to get to their goal.

Neil is a qualified banker and chartered secretary who is well versed in the technical skills of finance, planning, governance and decision making. He is also a former soldier and an experienced manager who has spent many years leading teams in the banking and education sectors.

As well as working for BIP, he is a Councillor on West Devon Borough Council. He has worked on NVQ and BTEC programmes from level 2 to level 7 for clients including the NHS, Sunseeker Yachts and Mole Valley Farmers.

Adela is a committed conservationist, graduating from York with an MRes in Ecology & Environmental Management. She has a wealth of experience including working as an ecologist and environmental scientist in the water industry, helping protect the UK’s wildlife, rivers and land. 

As a dedicated life and business coach, she brings her passion for wildlife and the environment to all her work. As our sustainability business advisor at BIP, Adela supports small businesses to better understand the green agenda and reach Net Zero.

Marianne delivers our projects for farmers and land managers in the south west. She has previously worked in education, including as a Science teacher and Assistant Headteacher, but Marianne's background is in environmental research and land management, particularly to protect soil and water resources. She has a PhD in soil erosion, is FACTS qualified and recently gained her Apprenticeship in Team Management.

Advisor on all things agricultural. Helping farmers through the agricultural transition plan by advising on Countryside Stewardship, Reducing BPS Payments, Sustainable Farming Incentive and other agricultural grants. As Helen works part-time at BIP, the remainder of her time is spent working on her family’s beef, sheep and arable farm.

Dave has held various agricultural roles within government organisations for over twenty years, supporting farming businesses and the rural economy. He now works part-time for BIP supporting farming businesses adapting to change and enabling proactive decision-making within agricultural business. From agricultural support schemes to business structures and succession planning, Dave can share his knowledge and expertise. Outside of his BIP work, he manages his family’s sheep farm and the various agri-environment schemes (Basic Payment Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot agreement and Countryside Stewardship agreement).

After studying agriculture at Bicton College, David took a lead in the family farm partnership in Cornwall in the early 1980s. In that time, he oversaw the expansion of the dairy herd and farm infrastructure. The dairy herd was dispersed in 2002, and a dairy heifer contract rearing enterprise followed while he worked as an NVQ assessor at Duchy College. Alongside this, he also studied for an OU degree in Environmental Science. He spent three years working as a Rural Development Officer for the Church in Devon before returning to Agriculture with AHDB as SW Regional Benchmarking Manager working with dairy, beef, sheep and arable farms. David joined BIP in January 2023. He loves farming, the countryside and rural people and enjoys working with clients to help them on their farming journey.

Emma has been with BIP for over 4 years providing administrative support across all BIP's projects and has an extensive background and experience in Project Management, not for profit management, and business development. When not working, she can be found exploring some remote wild swimming spot or hiking up a mountain! Last September, after a period of travelling in her big yellow van, Emma moved into the new role of Senior Project Officer for Agricultural Support, where she oversees all project administration, compliance, and claims for the Future Farming Resilience programme and other agricultural projects. She works closely with Marianne and Toni to ensure the project is a success, whilst supporting the Delivery Partners and the wider BIP team to achieve their targets and make sure farmers across the South West are fully supported to face the transition away from BPS in 2025.

Working part time to assist with implementing marketing strategies and all round marketing activities for the company. Louise has over 20 years working as a freelance marketeer and graphic designer along with running her own business support program for freelancers, start ups and small businesses in the South West. Louise shares her experience and knowledge across BIP in all areas she can support.

Kat works part-time with BIP on all things digital marketing related. She has over 20 years’ experience in marketing on both the agency and client side. Kat has worked for large and small businesses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand across a broad range of sectors, including the arts, broadcasting, finance, aviation and travel. She returned home to Devon in 2013 and has been a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant since then.

Toni has over 25 years' experience in the graphic design industry in project and production management which has equipped her with a thorough understanding of planning, processes and troubleshooting. She works part-time with the Future Farming Resilience administration team to ensure the smooth running of the project.

Providing executive support to our team of Directors and Managers, along with strategic administrative support across all BIP's projects, whilst liaising with key external stakeholders. Tamsyn also manages the Okehampton Business Centre, as well as coordinating our ISO Quality Standard accreditation.

Tamsyn has over 20 years’ experience, working nationally and internationally as a senior executive assistant within both private and public organisations, across a broad range of sectors, including finance, real estate, economic development and HE.