We are The Nicola Rylett Group, a team of associate consultants that are here to help solve your business problems, whether it’s acting as an outsourced department or motivating your team to do it themselves.
LEADERSHIP & CULTURAL CHANGE
NICOLA RYLETT-JONES
Nicola Rylett is a senior sales, marketing and communications leader who has held both Regional and National Director roles with some of the UK’s most prestigious organisations. She specialises in leadership, strategic growth, cultural change and development.
Top Tip: Ask questions, it is the most effective way of learning
Interesting Fact: I did a music and drama degree
Hobby Horse: Everything – because I can talk all day
My Inspiration: People that achieve no matter how big or small
Best Business Book: Traction - Gino Wickman
HR & HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS
KERRY CHOWN
With a Masters in Human Resource Management, Kerry Chown, Director of Cobalt HR, focuses on people to improve business. On top of supporting normal HR activity, her key interest is helping clients to adopt high performance working practices through engagement surveys and recognitions systems.
Top Tip: Don’t just settle with policies and contracts, your staff need strategic focus
Hobby Horse: Shopping at M&S
My Inspiration: Leaders with a passion
Best Business Book: Chimp Paradox - Prof Steven Peters
COBALT HR
SOCIAL MEDIA
ALICE MANSHIP
Alice is a young entrepreneur with a degree in Events Management and a passion for supporting small businesses with big ideas. She writes and designs content for social media, websites and email campaigns; as well as turning ideas into a reality through event planning and promotion.
Top Tip: Growth takes time, be patient.
Interesting Fact: Alice has worked on an Australian Cruise
Hobby Horse: Dancing
My Inspiration: New opportunities
Best Business Book: Eat That Frog - Brian Tracey
ASK ALICE
MARKETING & WEB DEVELOPMENT
STEPH STEPHENS
Steph is a marketing professional and owner of WhiteLenz Marketing. Specialising in website design, she offers responsive, user-friendly, SEO-optimised websites at reasonable rates. Steph will ensure your new website is unique and individual to you, using her passion and flair for design, combined with her knowledge and experience in marketing.
Top Tip: Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try
Interesting Fact: Steph is distantly related to Lady Godiva and Michael Schumacher
Hobby Horse: Exploring new cooking and baking recipes
My Inspiration: People who turn something small into something big
Best Business Book: The Icarus Deception - Seth Godin
WHITELENZ MARKETING
DESIGN
PETER DE WREEDE
Peter is a designer extraordinaire: logos, branding, brochures, leaflets, digital design, social media design and print management.
Top Tip: Exceed expectations
Interesting Fact: He was once ranked the 19th best amateur Ice Hockey goalie in the world
Hobby Horse: Logos…sorry!
My Inspiration: Family
Best Business Book: Too busy to read!
LET'S TALK DESIGN
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST
CHRIS ROBERTS
Chris is a digital technology specialist who helped deploy the first digital technology into the BT network in Wales in 1983! Chris supports leaders in small and medium-sized organisations to develop their GDPR and Cyber capabilities so they become more resilient to the growing numbers of cyber-attacks all digitally enabled businesses face every day. Increased resilience leads to fewer incidents of data breach and fraud.
Top Tip: Don’t assume your website is secure and your data is protected
Interesting Fact: Chris has abseiled off the roof of The Principality Stadium
Hobby Horse: Talking about online safety
My Inspiration: People, who despite terrible adversity, have stood up, dusted themselves down and started again.
Best Business Book: The Age Of Surveillance Capitalism - Professor Shoshana Zuboff
CYBATA
BUSINESS STRATEGY,
TRAINING & COACHING
STEVEN MADELEY
Steven works with all types and sizes of business to allow them to grow and consolidate. He is great at reshaping organisations, reviewing structures, roles & responsibilities, as well as processes. An expert at looking for new markets, he can position brands within the new market to maximise any identified opportunity.
Top Tip: The person with the most flexibility in their behaviours will benefit the most in their relationships.
Interesting Fact: I've been on Popmaster on Radio 2 and got 27 points!
Hobby Horse: Leadership training and coaching.
My Inspiration: Individuals or businesses who achieve their potential.
Best Business Book: 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' - Stephen R Covey
STEVEN MADELEY CONSULTANCY SERVICES
CUSTOMER INSIGHTS & UX
MEL EVANS
With several years of experience in senior management roles, in which Mel has overseen many areas of business development from operational roles to business integration. Mel loves leading teams to successfully deliver results and drive their business development. With a passion for delivering great standards, she feels it’s important to view things through the customer's eyes in order to drive sales through service.
‘Let me be the voice of the customer in your world and I will help you be truly customer centric'
Top Tip: All businesses need customers. It's vital to understand what your customers want from your business, as you have many competitors. The world around us is constantly changing, to stand still is to die in business.
Hobby Horse: I passionately believe that receiving a great experience as a customer is now a rare thing, but it should be the norm. We as consumers need to feel valued and want an emotional connection with a brand, a person or a business.
My Inspiration: A drive to help others succeed. From working with others and seeing transformations when people apply themselves, to making a change for the better.
Best Business Book: The Experience by Bruce Leoffler / Chimp paradox by Steve Peters
INSIGHT 6
ELITE TIME MANAGEMENT TRAINING
MANDY HEALEY
Mandy Healey is a professional development expert, dedicated to helping busy professionals enhance their time management skills and reduce stress. Through her mentoring and motivational speaking, she guides individuals in improving their daily efficiency. Mandy also offers career coaching, focusing on personal growth and practical solutions to workplace challenges.
Top Tip: Focus on important task and schedule enough to complete them. Task switching wastes 21 minutes per switch. Also - If you learn to save just 15 minutes a day, that will equate to over a year in an average lifetime.
Interesting Fact: I do a victory dance to celebrate wins in my business
Hobby Horse: Travelling around the UK in our motorhome and overseas for sunshine
My Inspiration: Seeing other people thrive
Best Business Book: Think, Lead, Succeed - The Admiral Way, by Henry Engelhardt
ASPIRATION STATION
SALES & LEADERSHIP
JAMIE MOORE
Top Tip:
1. Building genuine relationships is the foundation of success in both sales and leadership. It is essential to focus on understanding your clients or team member's needs, challenges, and goals. This approach is not just about making sales or directing teams; it is about creating value and trust. Genuine connections foster loyalty, encourage open communication, and create a network of support and collaboration. In sales, you should listen more than you talk, and leadership involves empowering your team members to grow and succeed.
2. Developing a growth mindset is essential to succeed in both sales and leadership. It means embracing challenges, learning from failures, and continually seeking to improve your skills and approach. In sales, refining your pitch, staying updated on industry trends, or learning from lost deals are ways to develop a growth mindset. Leadership means fostering innovation, encouraging constructive feedback, and being open to new ideas. It's about seeing potential in every situation and person and using that to drive forward.
3. While clear goals are essential in sales and leadership, focusing solely on outcomes can be limiting. Instead, adopt a solution-oriented approach. In sales, this means understanding the problems your product or service solves for the customer and tailoring your approach to their specific needs. In leadership, it involves identifying and addressing the hurdles your team faces in achieving their goals. This approach helps not only in achieving targets but also in building a culture of problem-solving and resilience.
Hobby Horse: I make the best American Pancakes, and I have an Apple gadget-shopping addiction that could rival the enthusiasm of a squirrel in a nut store during a buy-one-get-one-free sale!
Hobby Horse: The thing that you would talk and talk about all day? My family and I reside near one of Wales's most stunning beaches in Gower. We have two daughters and adore spending our summers there, regardless of the weather. We spend most of our days paddleboarding and enjoying the beauty of the beach.
My Inspiration: As someone who genuinely knows hardship and has faced many challenges in my youth, my inspiration comes from the desire to leave a legacy for my family and live a fulfilled life.
Best Business Book: Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
TECH & STARTUP LEADERSHIP
CAI GWINNUTT
Cai has experience in: Creating innovation strategies. Giving startup advice, especially go to market. Resourcing and team building. Senior leadership mentoring. Equity and grant funding. Storytelling for complex systems. Application and deployment of AI. Public speaking, workshop delivery and panel chair.
Top Tip: You won't achieve everything tomorrow, but it will come.
Interesting Fact: I've swam in 5,000 meters of water - couldn't touch the bottom.
Hobby Horse: Boats. Sailing and running away to live a life of adventure on the oceans.
My Inspiration: The rebels, who see things differently and challenge the status quo.
Best Business Book: Zero to One - Peter Theil / Good to Great - Jim Collins
JOHN CHANTRY
LEADERSHIP AND WORK LIFE BALANCE COACH
JOHN CHANTRY
Top Tip: Putting the fun back into achieving at the highest level is key to continuing success.
Interesting Fact: I own 4 dogs who teach me new tricks every day
Hobby Horse: The benefits of getting out, enjoying nature.
My Inspiration: Seeing other succeed after being in a rut.
Best Business Book: Lunch with the FT, A second helping.
Mantra: Every day is a school day!