From business intelligence to watching paint dry
Mark has been working within the Business Intelligence team of Pera for the best part of two years. For those who don’t know, Pera is a leading European innovation network. He was initially engaged for a nine month contract to provide maternity cover. The contract was extended to provide input to a range of interesting projects.
Starting in Business Intelligence
Whilst providing cover as an Operations Manager, Mark managed a team of Business Analysts and Research Consultants. They provided business intelligence services for both public sector and commercial clients.
Optima’s Business Director, Mark Small
Mark then focused on public sector work and was involved in delivering aspects of the Fiscal Stimulus Programme on behalf of UKTI, preparing reports to identify potential opportunities for UK business stemming from economic stimulus spending overseas. He also developed new documentation for R&D Partnerships – another UKTI service.
He then delivered a major project to assess potential factory locations in Europe on behalf of an American irrigation products company. Having determined the best potential sites from the perspective of economic potential, he worked with the US team to identify and select a partner company to secure funding, which resulted in €9.2 million of investment funding.
Moving to the paint Research Association
Mark began to get involved with the General Industrial Coatings Market 2010-2020 study in June of last year. Additional resources were required to meet the challenging delivery schedule for a project already running late. In November, he formally took over as Project Manager and is now working hard to get this ambitious work completed. The study will cover a whole multitude of coatings markets, including: Marine, Protective, General Industrial, Automotive and Plastics. To find out more visit the PRA website.
Optima Training (UK) Limited prides itself on providing fully tailored services matched exactly to the needs of our clients. Whether delivering staff development, or working within your own organisation to meet specific challenges, we deliver results that positively impact on your business.