Entrepreneurs’ Programme: Meet the new team

The Entrepreneurs’ Programme, developed from the Enterprise Connect initiative of the previous Government, is a flagship initiative focused on raising the competiveness and productivity of eligible companies at an individual level. The Programme will deploy more than 100 experienced Advisers and Facilitators, offering support to businesses through three elements: Business Management, Research Connections, and Accelerating Commercialisation. AMTIL is a partner organisation in the Programme.

Under Enterprise Connect and throughout the transition to the Entrepreneurs’ Programme, AMTIL employed a team of six people across Australia. Of that group, Bruno Bello, Neil Clarke, Michael Fetherstonhaugh and George Pofandt have remained on board to implement the new Programme on behalf of AMTIL. In addition, five new faces have been added to the team, with the appointment of Vineet Ahuja, Mal Clark, John Lochery, Rob Murphy and Richard Penman.

Vineet Ahuja
Business Adviser, Victoria
Tel: 0418 566 381
Email: vahuja@amtil.com.au

Vineet has a passion for supply chain continuous improvement, with over 39 years’ experience in senior management, implementing excellence in food, medical devices, healthcare products, oil, plastics and chemicals, and from small companies to global icons including international technology projects in Malaysia, India and Mexico. Vineet has the technical and leadership skills for organisational transformations, reducing waste, developing people, improving safety, influencing cultural change, teaching and setting future strategies, and turning around morale and businesses. With experience of production, procurement, planning, logistics, quality, advisory, technical services, engineering and project management, Vineet is a “thinker-doer mentor” with strong people skills and customer service orientation. Vineet is a qualified mechanical engineer, holds a MBA, PG Dip in Quality Management, as well as being a TAE40110-qualified trainer and mentor.

Bruno Bello
Business Adviser, Victoria
Tel: 0409 123 701
Email: bbello@amtil.com.au

Bruno’s geographical footprint covers Melbourne metro-based businesses. While drawing on extensive experience in running global machining, design and fabrication-related businesses, Bruno utilises his postgraduate business qualifications and extensive global business transformation background to assist a broad range of sectors in considering how they may be able to achieve a step change in revenue and profit. Sectors include pharmaceutical, food, IT, logistics and printing, among others. For Bruno, a different and qualified perspective often adds value that may not be apparent to highly skilled operators and managers who are focused on the daily demands of running a business.

Mal Clark
Business Adviser, Victoria
Tel: 0428 328 228
Email: mclark@amtil.com.au

Mal joins AMTIL covering Melbourne and surrounds as well as Gippsland. Mal has been involved in supporting Australian firms for nearly 20 years, over the past decade through various Federal Government programmes, most recently the Entrepreneurs’ Programme.  Mal’s background as a manager in corporate environments includes proven business development, commercialisation, P&L accountability and operational experience in manufacturing and service industries. Mal has been a key player in management teams, forming relationships at all levels in an organisation. He is highly analytical with the ability to facilitate change in a short timeframe. His qualifications include: a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Physics from Monash University; a Diploma of Management of Research and Development from University of New South Wales; and a Diploma of Business Management from University of Melbourne Business School. More recently Mal graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mal is a CEng, MIoP, MAIP and MAICD.

Neil Clarke
Research Connections Facilitator (IT Systems), South Australia
Tel: 0408 280 601
Email: nclarke@amtil.com.au

Neil entered the IT industry in 1987 after 10 years in the civil aviation sector. Neil has held technical and managerial positions in IT departments of medium-sized corporates and smaller businesses in diverse areas such as warehousing, product costing, network design, implementation services, technical consulting and software development. Neil has held director and managing director roles in two private companies, developing them from start-ups to successful multi-million dollar businesses focussed on software system development for shopfloor and industrial data capture processes. With experience in large and small companies, Neil enjoys using his hard-earned knowledge to help businesses overcome challenges in selection and implementation of IT systems to automate and improve workflows and information flows within the business. Having worked in both vendor and customer roles, Neil has a good understanding and empathy for the challenges businesses and vendors face in implementation of complex systems.

Michael Fetherstonhaugh
Business Adviser, South Australia
Tel: 0488 975 399
Email: mfethers@amtil.com.au

Michael provides professional facilitation services with specialisations in business development and growth through marketing and accelerating business capabilities. He enjoys working with companies to identify opportunities to grow revenue and reduce costs by improving efficiencies and empowering people. Michael has extensive leadership and management experience. Before joining AMTIL, he was a Business Adviser with Regional Development Australia, where he was responsible for working closely with Australian businesses seeking to expand, including entering various export markets. Michael has spent many years in management within the media (radio, television and print), where he worked with companies to develop their brand and build their customer portfolio. Michael is an accredited Business Counsellor with an Advanced Diploma in Business Management, and qualifications in training and workplace assessment. The key areas Michael will be servicing will be Adelaide’s northern suburbs, Barossa, the Riverland, Mid North and Eyre Peninsula region.

John Lochery
Business Advisor, Victoria
Tel: 0449 210 515
Email: jlochery@amtil.com.au

John is an experienced senior manager with a primary focus on continual improvement, innovation and profit, and an overall goal of maximising returns for shareholders and supporting companies’ brands in the markets they play in, while successfully developing new business opportunities. His strong strategic focus and team development skills have been gained from 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing, in both the retail and business-to-business sectors. John’s specialties include: strategic plan development and implementation; acquisitions and mergers; restructures and integration; production and manufacturing capital project management; new product development and launch planning and implementation; export development; and food service and retail sales and marketing. His industry experience includes a time as CEO of the Pastoral Pork Company, and Managing Director of Baxters Foods Australia. He was Sales and Marketing Manager at Bamboleo, an Account Manager with SPC Ardmona, and National Manager at Simplot Food Service.

Rob Murphy
Business Adviser, Victoria
Tel: 0439 675 516
Email: rmurphy@amtil.com.au

With 40 years’ experience across diverse industries, Rob is an expert in business management and manufacturing processes. In previous senior operational and management positions he has managed large teams, led export initiatives, increased productivity, reduced downtime, automated production lines and improved processing capability for a number of firms. His expertise allows him to provide best practice advice to manufacturers and service firms on a range of issues, including strategic planning, strategy deployment, operations management and human resource management. Rob is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and held positions as Victorian President and Senior Vice-President. Qualifications include a Dip Eng (Mech), B.Com (App. Eco), M.Bus (Manufacturing).

Richard Penman
Research Connections Facilitator (IT Systems), South Australia
Tel: 0409 169 978
Email: rpenman@amtil.com.au

Richard comes to AMTIL from the Australian Industry Group, where he advised over 150 companies on technology solutions, platforms and strategies. Before that he was the Pacific Zone IT Manager for Bureau Veritas, the world’s second-largest group in conformity assessment and certification services in the fields of quality, health and safety, environment, and social responsibility. Richard has extensive IT management and strategic ICT governance experience, gained through senior and executive roles delivering major business transformations and driving business capability evolution for SMEs and large enterprises. He now brings his expertise to AMTIL, to continue advising Australian SMEs on technology solutions and leveraging. Based out of Adelaide, Richard’s qualifications include a Masters of Information Technology.

George Pofandt
Research Connections Facilitator (Technology & Knowledge), Queensland
Tel: 0411 098 685
Email: gpofandt@amtil.com.au

George specifically covers the Technology and Knowledge elements of Research Connections. George is a manufacturing engineer and toolmaker and has extensive, hands-on experience in a wide range of industry sectors, including medical, aerospace, mining, agriculture and micro-manufacturing. George also founded and operated the national manufacturing network known as ManufactureLink, which now forms part of AMTIL’s services. Since joining the original Enterprise Connect program in 2009, George has completed over 700 individual technical assistance enquiries for program clients.

For more information on the Entrepreneurs’ Programme, contact Greg Chalker, AMTIL’s Corporate Services Manager, by calling 03 9800 3666 or emailing gchalker@amtil.com.au.