Our people
Partners with a passion for service
Andy Dewhurst, Founding Partner
Andy was one of the founding partners of Wiseheart in 2008. He has a breadth of leadership experience from 25 years spent with Tesco in many senior director roles. He was a founding director of Tesco Personal Finance in 1997 and was the creator and CEO of Tesco Telecoms between 2003 and 2008. He is an advisor to Wiseheart and is available to help shape client programmes and for senior coaching/mentoring assignments. Through his own company Andy Dewhurst Consulting he is Non Executive Chairman of 5 One Ltd and Utilities Exchange Ltd, a Non Executive Director of ING Direct, and an advisor to Telefonica/O2 in the UK.
His passion is creating customer focussed businesses and developing the necessary Leadership to succeed.
Richard Thorp, Founding Partner
With over 15 years marketing, retail & change management experience in a consistently high performing FTSE 100 company, Richard has the experience of what it takes to develop and sustain results through people. He has developed many service, leadership & culture change programmes, including an award-winning customer service programme called ‘Living Service’, considered one of the key contributing programmes towards Tesco’s continued success. He went on to design a breakthrough culture change programme for call centres & HO’s that radically improved morale & results, described by academics as “daring & ethical as well as good for business”, and Investors for People as “exceptional”.
He is highly respected for his ability to balance focus on what is best for the business and the individual, to bring the best out of both. Expert at challenging and supporting people into discovering their own emotional intelligence in applied ways.
His belief and passion is that there is a profound opportunity in public and private sectors to create service cultures that perform with a win/win/win leadership philosophy. A win for the customer, a win for the employee and a win for the business.
Karen Whitemore, Partner
Karen has 20 years learning and development experience in a variety of industry sectors including retail, manufacturing, sales, small SME’s and large blue chip companies. She has developed many companywide large scale development and culture changes programmes which have been well received whilst providing individual learning and improved organisational performance. Karen is experienced in working at all levels to ensure people perform at their best and enjoy what they do, she is creative, enthusiastic and has an excellent capacity for generating ideas.
Described by her clients as personable, a great listener, someone able to challenge and support to get quickly to the root cause, positive alongside being calming with a sense of humour that enables the right environment.
Paul Hawkins, Associate Partner
Paul is a specialist in leadership development, change management and working with teams at every level. He started his career on the frontlines as a Store Manager in two blue-chip retailers, learning the practical leadership skills and lessons required to deliver excellent service through a team of people. His passion for developing performance in people led him to become an internal consultant at a leading global retailer, responsible for the leadership and general management development of the top talent across the group. Qualified and trained in Myers Briggs and with experience of working extensively in the UK, Europe and Asia on a range of programmes.
Paul is passionate about supporting individuals and teams to find clarity, purpose and inspiration in their working and personal lives, in order to maximise their potential. He carefully manages his time between work and family life and is the proud father of a little boy and baby girl.
Rob Hawkins, Associate Director
Rob accepted the role of Associate Director of Wiseheart after having personally experienced the benefits of Wiseheart’s approach and philosophy. Rob has always valued the importance of relationships in business, an approach that helped him establish a successful career developing businesses with a diverse portfolio of clients, ranging from Financial, Legal, Media & Telecoms to Government Institutions. Having reached a period in his life where he felt he needed to re-evaluate his direction he spent time with the Wiseheart team which enabled Rob to identify what really mattered to him both commercially, and personally, and provided him with the confidence to diversify away from the comfort zone and really establish the balance he craved.
As cliched as it sounds, one of Rob’s key motivators is to now contribute to developing business with a company that he believes passionately about.
Chris Laney, Associate
Chris a fully qualified NLP practitioner and NCFE accredited Coach which she applies with over 19 years of retail experience in varying roles for the UK’s No 1 retailer. Chris was nominated twice for Customer Service Trainer of the Year with Tesco at the National Customer Service Awards. A highly experienced, creative and resourceful coach and change agent with a vast skill set, respected for her focus, empathy and connection with others. All of which enables her to get to the heart of the matter with a highly valued mixture of support and challenge.
Chris says she ‘has a passion to assist others in their personal development and to help individuals and organisations grow and sustain change, allowing them to connect with their staff and customers in a real and effective way.’
Ros Draper, Associate
A highly successful and inspiring business coach with a track record of delivering high impact personal and business change for the UK’s no.1 blue chip retailer. An authentic, versatile and emotionally intelligent coach, she is passionate about enabling others to learn and enrich their self awareness. Her key strengths are her creativity, empathy and connection with others, combined with extensive knowledge and experience across a wide portfolio of business sectors.
Ros believes that all people are full of potential and this underpins her transformational work with teams and individuals.
Maggie Bright, Associate
Maggie has for over 27 years business experience gained within major UK retailers. Her broad career has covered many areas including marketing, customer insight, publishing, coaching and training.
Maggie’s energy lies in helping people understand themselves and “why they do what they do”. Known and respected as one the very best listeners by those that have worked with her, what she enjoys the most is helping people leave a room happier and more confident than when they walked in.
Listening to help people understand is what Maggie does best. Living her values of care and trust, Maggie listens with rare expertise and has helped many hundreds of people on an individual basis. At an organisational scale, Maggie has developed and led many customer research and customer question time groups that have helped some of the most successful blue chip companies listen, understand and deliver for customers in order to grow their business.
Guy Longshaw, Associate
Guy’s passion for inspiring and enabling people’s greater wellbeing, fulfilment and happiness shaped his career transition into coaching and consultancy. This followed 20 years’ management experience spanning marketing and business development, strategic planning, project and programme management, employee engagement and culture change. He believes strongly in the business potential of wellbeing, heart-connection and mindfulness, including working at the physiological level to transform performance and open minds to new options, attitudes and clarity of purpose.
He runs workshops specifically on wellbeing, stress management and performance as well as integrating these tools and approaches into leadership and management programmes. Guy is renowned as an enthusiastic and energetic facilitator as well as an honest, kind and straight-talking executive coach. He loves karate, fresh air and exercise and lives in Hertfordshire.
Find out more about Wiseheart or call us on 01763 271430.