David McCartney

About Me:

David is a seasoned and successful businessman with a broad range of experience gained over the last 28 years operating at a senior level for publicly quoted, family owned and venture capital backed businesses. Having originally graduated in Chemical Engineering at Leeds University, David received further business training at the University of California and Ashridge Management College. He led his first business at the age of 23 and fast tracked through the corporate environment holding a range of sales, operations, project management and senior business roles before ultimately becoming Managing Director of Fiske Food Ingredients, a £40m turnover business and the UK's leading food ingredient distributor. David moved into the private SME sector 6 years ago and has been a Director/Managing Director of two privately owned family businesses and CEO of a venture capital backed University spin out. He bought The Alternative Board (North Leeds) business in 2009 and is providing mentoring, coaching and facilitation services to 21 business owners covering a wide range of sectors and sizes.

 Specialist Sectors:

-       Distribution

-       Food Ingredients

-       Chemical industry   

 Expertise:

-       Strategic planning

-       Business development

-       Change management

-       Process and systems

-       Profit improvement

Companies I Work With:

-       SMEs of all sizes

What My Clients Say About Me: 

"I first met David as my client over 6 years ago; now I am also one of his. Getting to know David on a professional level has been a revelation. The diversity of his expertise is awesome; offering a fresh perspective on challenging issues, facilitation of meetings, helping with strategic planning and providing inspirational coaching sessions. He is a great listener and I have found his objective advice invaluable. He makes being in business even more exciting and a little less lonely!

There are many things one wonders about spending money on, especially in a recession. David combined with The Alternative Board provides great value and is one of my best investments. I have no hesitation in recommending David; his results are spectacular!"

Ian Sandford - Director, Four Seasons Interiors  www.4seasons-design.co.uk 

"Working with David and The Alternative Board has been the best investment of time and money I have ever made. Without exaggeration, the time with TAB has been insightful, stimulating, and extremely supportive. The one to one coaching sessions give you a great opportunity to build and reflect on your plans. Combine this with excellent business planning systems; it's a great package of SME support that I have not seen the equivalent of anywhere else. It has been really affordable. The quality of business advice and support is exceptional - from like minded business owners who have been truly ready to lend a hand. It has turned my business round. I recommend David and The Alternative Board highly." 

Hazel Lowndes - Managing Director, Principle Practice  www.principle-practice.co.uk  

What I Like To Do In My Pastime:

I am a keen golfer and member of Moortown Golf Club. I am a qualified rugby coach and referee and coached the Old Leos junior rugby team for 5 years. I am a keen skier and go on a lads ski trip to the Alps every year. I try to keep fit by regular jogging and mountain biking, but dark evenings are dampening my enthusiasm. I love cooking, especially Chinese food and curries and hope to enroll in a cooking class next year.

You can view David's LinkedIn profile here

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