Our Team

We are a small team of proven and experienced business leaders prepared to invest our time and capital to back our brains, courage and leadership to deliver our client’s desired outcomes.

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Robert Osborne

Robert is an expert in delivering public service transformations and growing shareholder value in SMEs. His interest is in recognising, targeting and securing the ‘value step’ – that vital moment when a project succeeds or when shareholder value is realised.

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    After a successful early career in major construction and support services companies, Robert has held a series of high-profile positions in national programmes of public infrastructure.


    In the boardroom, he has corporate and governance experience as chair, chief executive, executive director, NED and principal in both publicly quoted and privately held companies as well as public agencies. In his multiple project finance and construction roles he has acted as client, advisor, investor, contractor and subcontractor. His strategic vision and team leadership are at the heart of ValueStep’s work.


    Robert is also Chair of the infrastructure, energy and futures think tank, acumen7. (www.acumen7.com) 

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James Leng

James has built a career as an entrepreneurial business leader on the foundation of 35 years’ experience on a number of UK’s largest PFI/PPP, infrastructure and contracting service schemes.

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    James is an accomplished Executive Director with over 35 years of experience in founding, owning, leading and advising businesses across various sectors, such as construction, performance automotive, manufacturing and engineering, health, education, as well as national security and justice. 


    He has a proven track record of delivering positive outcomes for businesses and on projects facing complex and critical challenges, by applying his financial and commercial acumen, project and programme management, negotiation and transaction, risk management and dispute resolution, workforce development and talent management, and stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

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Martin Haywood

Martin is an energetic operational and commercially perceptive finance director who harnesses a Dashboard and Scorecard culture to create financial information sets that underpin steps in business value.

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    FCMA, CGMA | www.execlounge.com


    Martin is an energetic operational and commercially perceptive finance director who harnesses a Dashboard and Scorecard culture to create financial information sets that underpin steps in business value. His passion is to maximise the potential of the people and business with whom he works.


    Martin’s 30-year track record has included working with SME businesses and owners to optimise business performance, lead turnarounds, restructure and grow organisations, ensure the effectiveness of core business processes and generate accurate, relevant and up-to-date business information. In service of this, he works as a non-executive director, portfolio FD, project manager or emergency project/problem fixer.


    He has worked with ValueStep since 2019 and brings particular strength in the manufacturing and automotive sectors, where he specialises in:

    •     Performance management systems
    •     Turnarounds
    •     Change management
    •     Systems and business process design/re-engineering
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Peter Robinson

Peter is a pioneer of new media, disruptor of the creative communications industries and strategic organisational consultant with 35 years’ experience of helping business owners to shape and change direction.

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    www.prcomm.co.uk


    Peter is a pioneer of new media, disruptor of the creative communications industries

    and strategic organisational consultant with 35 years’ experience of helping business

    owners, board members and government ministers to shape and change direction.


    He has founded and successfully run two creative agencies, has raised venture capital

    and been a principal in an international joint venture, and has advised numerous high-

    profile start-up and fast-growing businesses through different stages of their development. In wide ranging consultancy assignments around the world, he has also

    advised and written for leaders of international corporations such as Mars, JP Morgan,

    Skanska, Whitbread and St. James’s Place.


    He has worked with ValueStep since 2017 and is currently chairman of a rapidly expanding training and education services business and wrote the company’s winning bid for a five-year, multi-million-pound contract. Alongside particular strengths in helping business owners and leaders align strategy and narrative, he advises on:

    •     Board composition and governance
    •     Branding and communications
    •     New business operations
    •     Web development and multimedia production
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Charlotte Allfrey

Charlotte is a results driven HR Professional who provides strategic HR advice and services as well as practical help and guidance to help companies achieve their business goals by managing people effectively.

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    Chartered MCIPD | www.metrohr.co.uk


    Charlotte is a results driven HR Professional who provides strategic HR advice and services as well as practical help and guidance to help companies achieve their business goals by managing people effectively. She has proven expertise in encouraging and supporting HR strategy development, roll out and proactive business leadership, backed up by a sound foundation in more generalist HR management, including problem- solving, trouble-shooting and conflict management.


    Charlotte has worked across a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, health and social care, private healthcare, charity and not-for-profit, in both private and public sector organisations. She is currently Bank and Guest Associate Lecturer in HR Management at Chichester College.


    She has been working with ValueStep since 2019 and has made HR a central part of our teams adding bottom-line value for clients at critical points in their development. Her work has embraced areas such as:

    •     Organisational development
    •     Performance review and management processes
    •     Employment contracts
    •     Restructuring
    •     Recruitment
    •     Redundancy programmes
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Trusted Partners

Working with other trusted partners, we offer a complete portfolio of additional skills and capabilities to suit the situation.

Contact Us

Contact us and start achieving the next Value Step, that moment when a step change in shareholder value is created and realised.