The Help to Grow: Management Course is delivered by world-class business schools across the UK. Course leaders for each module have been selected for their real-world experience and knowledge in their field.
The business schools are accredited by the Small Business Charter, an award which recognises business schools who provide high quality, tailored business support for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Find out more about some of the course deliverers below.
MEET THE TEAM
Sarah Lethbridge
Sarah is the Pro Dean for External Engagement at Cardiff Business School responsible for all of the outward facing activities such as strategic partnerships, conferences and events. The work of Sarah and her team helps Cardiff Business School's research to have real world impact. She is also a specialist in continuous improvement, helping organisations to become learning organisations.
Aaron Tan
Aaron leads as Programme Director of the Help to Grow: Management Course at the University of Greenwich.
He has extensive experience across a range of industries. Starting out in road reinstatement and construction, his first milestone was negotiating a settlement for £120k debt from a client. He then moved into aerospace and defence where he contract managed the UK MoD's two largest R&D contracts at the time totalling £35 million.
He then took over the family restaurant increasing revenue threefold in 18 months, and then expanded his portfolio to include a photo studio and then onto selling water filters.
Since entering into academia Aaron has authored 3 textbooks for the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply on topics including Operations Management, Managing Contract Risk and Organisational Culture. He is also passionate about education and training which has seen him achieve 100% student satisfaction on his programmes.
He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship at the University of Greenwich focusing on how entrepreneurs can engage with their local entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Dr Olivia Ramsbottom
Dr Olivia Ramsbottom is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management at Sheffield Business School, where she focuses on applied, contextualised learning for businesses and organisations. She leads several modules, including the MBA online Strategic Management module and two Level 6 capstone modules: Strategy in the Global and Digital Environment and Implementing Strategy and Change. She also tutors across Levels 4 to 7 apprenticeship work-based projects, supervises MBA students, and facilitates on the Help to Grow programme.
Olivia holds a BA (Hons) in Politics and English, an MSc in Management, and a PhD, which she completed while lecturing full-time at the University of Derby. Prior to academia, she spent 16 years in various management roles and also worked as a self-employed trainer and consultant—experience that continues to inform her teaching.
Her current projects include editing Responsible Strategic Thinking for Business and Society, due for publication by Taylor & Francis in July 2025. The book features five chapters authored by Olivia and contributions from UK academics, aiming to support responsible management education. She is also working on the second edition of her book The Fundamentals of Event Design.
In addition to her publishing work, Olivia is developing a research project exploring microbusinesses’ awareness of and attitudes toward sustainability.
Dr Surja Datta
Surja Datta PhD, MBA, MA. Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Innovation, Oxford Brookes Business School.
Dr Surja Datta is an academic and author. Surja’s eclectic research programme includes business history, innovation, and strategy. He has published extensively including several books, book chapters, and journal articles in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals. Surja has earlier been involved in a European Commission project that developed business and innovation models for environment monitoring services in Europe. He is part of the curriculum development team of Help to Grow, a UK Government initiative to promote growth in SMEs.
Surja is the Co-Editor of International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development.
He is a prolific public speaker, his talks covering a range of topics, from management to philosophy.
Dr Richard Tunstall
Dr Richard Tunstall is University Academic Lead and Associate Professor of Enterprise at the University of Leeds, where he leads interactive undergraduate discovery and postgraduate courses and supports student enterprise initiatives across the University of Leeds. Richard develops and teach courses to inter-disciplinary classes at the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies, leads programme development for Leeds University Business School, and conducts published research into the human-dimensions of startups, business models corporate venturing, open innovation, and entrepreneurship education.
From the beginning of his career at a technology startup to his current university tenure, Richard has been involved with leading a range of private and public sector edutech, research and talent management initiatives, including online and traditional education, customer communications and the implementation of award-winning institutional technology implementation initiatives with multiple stakeholders in leading public universities, startups and corporate clients and partners.
As a researcher, editor, editorial board member and reviewer for international research journals, Trustee of a leading UK research institute, and Chair of the Entrepreneurship Studies Network, Richard actively supports and develops initiatives to advance knowledge into the critical understanding of entrepreneurship and its social and business development impact.
As an educator, he designs and delivers interactive learning experiences which seek to engage diverse audiences at different levels of experience, to challenge thinking and co-create opportunities for personal and business development.
Julie McCandless
Julie is a Professor of Practice at Queen's University Belfast, with extensive experience in management consulting in London, Dublin and Hong Kong. She is interested in practice-led research and knowledge transfer partnerships. Particular themes of interest are business transformations, operational innovation, data-driven decision making, and customer experience strategies. She teaches management consulting and leadership at both undergraduate and executive level.
Louisa Osmond
Louisa is head of executive education and part of the marketing faculty at Edinburgh Business School. She is the driving force behind the School’s delivery of the Help to Grow: Management Course, which has seen over 300 hundred Scottish SME leaders sharpen their strategic thinking, strengthen their marketing, and accelerate sustainable growth since 2021.
As a business growth agent, Louisa brings together academic expertise and over 20 years’ experience as a marketing and PR practitioner. She is author of Edinburgh Business School’s Strategic Marketing and Marketing Communications MBA courses, which are delivered both online and internationally. Her approach blends marketing theory with practical, results-driven application ensuring business leaders leave with strategies they can put to work immediately.
Before joining the Business School, Louisa led a Top 10 independent PR consultancy in London, where she devised and delivered high-impact campaigns for clients across sectors. She also ran her own consultancy, helping SMEs find and amplify their voice in competitive markets through targeted media relations, compelling storytelling, and strategic digital engagement.
Louisa’s passion lies in empowering business leaders to connect more effectively with their customers, strengthen their brand, and unlock growth opportunities. On Help to Grow: Management, Louisa works closely with her fellow faculty subject experts to ensure every leader gains the tools, confidence, and insight to grow their business and the ambition to keep going further.
Andy Salmon
Andy Salmon is an experienced entrepreneur and educator with a passion for supporting business growth. After gaining international experience, he founded and ran his own consultancy for over a decade before successfully exiting the business. He then joined a global e-learning organisation, delivering services to over five million students across countries including Australia, the USA, UK, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Andy went on to establish and lead the South Australian arm of a major consumer IT services firm, before deciding to focus on helping others build their businesses. To complement his practical experience with academic insight, he earned a Master’s degree in 2008.
Returning to the UK, he founded a training and consultancy company and began working with universities as a Visiting Lecturer. His industry background informed a practical, problem-based teaching approach, which led to a full-time academic role at Birmingham City University in 2015.
In late 2022, Andy joined Aston Business School as a Senior Teaching Fellow. He became Director of the MSc Strategy and International Business programme in 2023, and in January 2025, took on leadership of the MSc Strategic Marketing Management programme. His focus is on equipping future business leaders through impactful teaching and programme development.
Andy Salmon delivers the Building a Brand module on the Help to Grow: Management Course at Aston University.
Discover how the course is delivered
In this video by the University of Hertfordshire you can see how the modules of the course are delivered.
Insights from course practitioners
Find out what benefits the course gives SMEs from the perspective of those who deliver it.
Ready to Grow?
With 60 business schools around the UK, there will be a Help to Grow: Management Course starting near you soon. Don't miss your chance to register.
