The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) has welcomed The Growth Company’s newest appointment, Tom Harrington, who has been named Mentoring Advisor for London and the South East region and will be responsible for matching SMEs in the area with skilled mentors who will provide guidance on business growth and resilience.
Tom has been advising businesses of all sizes for more than 25 years, with a focus on SMEs. He has worked with a wide variety of SMEs to help them identify challenges and achieve their business goals. Tom also has a wealth of knowledge of working with start-ups to help develop their value proposition and lean principles, as well as gain growth funding.
Tom formalised his knowledge and completed a Masters in International Entrepreneurship Management, continuing a path which led to him advising London manufacturers and other business owners. His extensive knowledge across business functions and sectors comes from direct project management and client experience.
In his new role, Tom will be heading up the London and South East regions for Be the Business’s Mentoring for Growth programme, in collaboration with the Growth Company. The national mentoring programme aims to bridge the productivity gap within UK SMEs by creating year-long mentor partnerships that provide experienced support to SMEs in the form of mentors from leading businesses in the UK.
Tom will be working alongside SELEP’s South East Business Hub – which comprises Business East Sussex, Business Essex Southend and Thurrock (BEST) Growth Hub, and Kent & Medway Growth Hub – to encourage SMEs across the SELEP patch to take advantage of the programme, which will allow them to glean business knowledge from senior-level mentors from multinationals including Siemens, GSK and the John Lewis Partnership.
Mentoring Advisor for London and SE Region, Tom Harrington, said:
“My ethos is that businesses should do more than just make money. They should be agile to changing market needs, connect and engage with all stakeholders in order to multiply the wealth that they create for themselves whilst creating sustainable jobs and extending education and skills to their workforce and community.”