The Team

Andrew Burton, Managing Director

Andrew is a highly experienced consultant and adviser in early stage, technology-based businesses. A Mechanical Engineering graduate, he enjoyed several years in technical and international sales, before taking his own electronics business from start up to trade sale in nine years.

For past 20 years Andrew has worked with high growth firms, advising and coaching in all aspects of technology-based business. From 1993 to 2002 he managed UniVentures International before leading the management buyout resulting in the formation of Inkopo.  He is Managing Director of the Viking Fund, one of several DBERR Early Growth Funds.  Launched in 2004, Viking Fund has invested in some of Yorkshire’s finest early-stage technology firms and has a current portfolio of 23 companies.  Andrew is also a director of the Viking Club, a group of high net worth investors who have invested alongside the Fund.

From 1997 to 2004 he was the secretary of the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels (YABA) and remains closely involved with angel investing.  He is a director of several start-up companies and a former director of national incubation body UKBI and the Yorkshire and Humber Objective 2 fund, Partnership Investment Finance.

Viv Hallam, Consultancy Director

Experienced General manager: providing strategic leadership, coaching, management and project delivery throughout the business. Focussed on consultancy to clients for the development and brining to market of new technology products, creating strategic business partnerships and exploiting intellectual property.

Viv's specialisation for the last 20 years has been the development, sales, marketing and management of products driven by technology. He works with entrepreneurs, young companies and through public sector initiatives to establish thriving businesses; providing business and financial planning, mentoring and operations management in business areas ranging from manufacturing to e-commerce to finance. Viv is a director of several early stage technology companies.

his recent work also includes strategic consultancy to public bodies, planning business support programmes for economic regeneration, including; Wakefield First, Wakefield MDC, business link West Yorkshire, Bradford Chamber, REGEN2000 (an SRB funded regeneration programme in Bradford, where he led project teams planning and successful bidding for £3.5m special purpose training facilities for school, commerce and public use).

Dr William Gosling

Bill Gosling has over 30 years experience in the commercial exploitation of technology gained in the private sector, with regional, national and foreign governments and with international agencies. Yorkshire has been his base throughout that time. He began his career in R&D, moved into industrial engineering management and marketing and then into business development both operationally and as a consultant.

Bill is particularly experienced in Technology Transfer, from the lab into the market place and territorially. He has worked with large organisations wishing to exploit their IP portfolios and with small concerns acting as vehicles for the transfer or having technology of their own to exploit. Bill has also worked extensively in the wider aspects of SME development and corporate spin-offs.

Darren Morris, Contracts Manager

With 14 years experience of working in the delivery and management of externally funded programmes. Darren has a broad knowledge of funding types, contractual compliance issues and management. Project management roles included devising and implementing multi-project monitoring systems, internal and external audit liason including Business Links, DTi, LSC, SRB, ERDF & ESF, Hefce, Fefc and local authorities.

Darren provides a broad base of operational support to start-up and young companies, including assistance in company formations, shareholdings and legal processes, HR, financial and business planning, technical support, accounts and back office services

Darren is experienced in devising and delivering training to SME's, specialising in emerging technology product development and software. He is currently involved in technical support, research and system development work for SME's in the communications and e-commerce sectors.

Barbara Greaves, Consultant

Barbara has spent over 20 years in sales office management in manufacturing companies in Yorkshire, dealing with home and export customers. She has a degree in Business Studies – marketing and became a graduate member of the Institute of Export in 1984 and later taught International Trade and Payments courses at Huddersfield Technical College.

Barbara has run the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels for nearly eight years from YABA's office in Harrogate, successfully growing the membership into a recognised body of private investors active in helping to finance start-up and early growth companies in Yorkshire.

Barbara has recently become a volunteer Young Enterprise Scheme business advisor at Harrogate Ladies College.

Charlotte Atkinson, Administrator

Charlotte is a full-time Administrator for YABA providing additional support for the increasingly successful YABA programme of events.

Charlotte worked as Administration Assistant and subsequently Office Manager for a national I.T. training company before joining Inkopo to support YABA in Harrogate. Charlotte provides accounts and event management support to YABA and is currently working towards ACCA.

Nicola Galvin, Finance Manager

Nicola provides accounts and book keeping support for Inkopo and client accounts.
Graduating with a BTEC in Business and Finance from Tameside College, Nicola spent some time managing nightclubs before returning to university as a mature student. Nicola holds a BSC in Business Studies and Human Resources from the University of Salford.  Qualified MAAT in Sept 2007 and is currently studying towards the ACCA qualification.  She joined Inkopo from Alfred McAlpine.