Jonathan Bland, Managing Director, Social Business International Jonathan Bland, the founder of SBI, is an international expert on social enterprise with 30 years experience working in this field. Since 1998 he has been a leader in the UK social enterprise movement bringing together a diverse range of people and organisations under the umbrella of social enterprise. First as Executive Director of Social Enterprise London and then as CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition (now Social Enterprise UK), Jonathan Bland helped the British Government to create a highly innovative policy framework for social enterprise and supported the development of some major programmes in the field of public service innovation, enterprise and employment. He campaigned successfully to win widespread cross-party political support for this type of business. He has also worked promoting social enterprises in Finland and been expert advisor to the European Commission and helped to develop the European Commission’s Social Business Initiative. In the 1990s Jonathan lived in Spain for five years where he developed and managed a series of innovative European projects for the Valencian Co-operative movement. Previously he worked with co-operatives in London and in Wales. Baroness Glenys Thornton, Senior Associate, Social Business International Baroness Thornton is the former CEO of the Young Foundation, a Health Minister in the House of Lords and a former Government Health and Equalities Minister. She has long supported the development of social enterprise. Baroness Thornton was founding Chair of the Social Enterprise Coalition (UK) and for many years she was a board member of Social Enterprise London and a trustee of two social enterprises (Fifteen, Training for Life), as well as many charities. She supports the work of the Social Economy Alliance. She is currently the Hon Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Social Enterprise, which she founded in 2001, and is a life long member of the Co-operative movement. Prior to joining the Government in 2008, Baroness Thornton ran her own communications consultancy. She has worked with the senior management teams of many social enterprises, voluntary organisations and education institutes, providing support in the areas of communications, marketing and leadership. She is emeritus Governor of the London School of Economics and a Senior Fellow of the Young Foundation. Chris Heald, Senior Associate, Social Business International Chris has a passion for helping individuals, teams and organisations release their potential. He works with a wide range of different clients (size and nature) who wish to benefit from his coaching and facilitation skills, as well as his wide range of experiences. Clients frequently use Chris to advise on and support their long-term strategic objectives, as well as working with the dynamics at the top of organisation (Board & executive leadership behaviours and governance arrangements). Chris has worked extensively with CEOs and senior executives, as well as start-ups, across the public, private, social enterprise and charitable sectors. A fascination for people and what makes them tick has been the constant, and he is most likely to be involved when the dynamics of the organisation or team are causing sub-optimal performance. Chris qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He first became self-employed in January 1996. In 2000 he founded Telos Partners, a management consultancy, with 13 others, where he served on the Board from 2004 and as chairman from 2006 to 2012. Chris also served on the Employee Ownership Association Board from 2014-17. Jamie Veitch, Senior Associate, Social Business International Jamie is a rock-climber, a (social enterprise) coffee addict and author of The Social Entrepreneur’s Guide to Winning Public Sector Contracts. He works with leaders of social enterprises, charities and values-driven businesses helping them to communicate more effectively, secure revenue (and bid effectively for contracts and grants) earn media coverage and engage with clients and stakeholders. A career as a children’s magician paid Jamie’s way through University and enabled travel to Russia, China and Kazakhstan while taking his degree. On graduation he joined a small publishing company which became part of the Mirror Group. There Jamie ran a portfolio of magazines and events, before leaving to launch a magazine publishing company in 1999. This values-driven business ran for 12 years. During that time Jamie and colleagues launched the world’s first social enterprise magazine and repeatedly won public sector contracts. Jamie also became a voluntary board member and advisor to several social enterprises. Since 2010 Jamie’s been consulting to help clients communicate more effectively, measure impact and develop their social enterprises. He also presents a weekly social enterprise radio show on a voluntary basis for Sheffield Live FM radio. Claire Williamson, E3M Associate, Social Business International Following her degree in Modern Languages and European Studies, Claire travelled around the world before developing her professional experience in a variety of roles for the University of Oxford, Oxfam, and at The Word Gym, a translation agency that specialised in low volume, high value advertising and marketing copy. A career break to focus on family led to the world of freelancing, in which Claire provides business support to a small number of organisations, including an educational consultancy and a charity consultancy, as well as SBI. A strong believer in the charitable and voluntary sector, Claire was a trustee of Chipping Norton Lido for many years and still volunteers for the charity, and for her local rugby clubs, where she played and coached. Since 2017, Claire has been supporting the work of E3M, contributing to its membership programmes, events, marketing, web and social media presence. She particularly enjoys seeing the results of all the event planning and management, a highlight being the study trip to Suara in Barcelona in 2023.
Jonathan Bland, Managing Director, Social Business International Jonathan Bland, the founder of SBI, is an international expert on social enterprise with 30 years experience working in this field. Since 1998 he has been a leader in the UK social enterprise movement bringing together a diverse range of people and organisations under the umbrella of social enterprise. First as Executive Director of Social Enterprise London and then as CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition (now Social Enterprise UK), Jonathan Bland helped the British Government to create a highly innovative policy framework for social enterprise and supported the development of some major programmes in the field of public service innovation, enterprise and employment. He campaigned successfully to win widespread cross-party political support for this type of business. He has also worked promoting social enterprises in Finland and been expert advisor to the European Commission and helped to develop the European Commission’s Social Business Initiative. In the 1990s Jonathan lived in Spain for five years where he developed and managed a series of innovative European projects for the Valencian Co-operative movement. Previously he worked with co-operatives in London and in Wales. Baroness Glenys Thornton, Senior Associate, Social Business International Baroness Thornton is the former CEO of the Young Foundation, a Health Minister in the House of Lords and a former Government Health and Equalities Minister. She has long supported the development of social enterprise. Baroness Thornton was founding Chair of the Social Enterprise Coalition (UK) and for many years she was a board member of Social Enterprise London and a trustee of two social enterprises (Fifteen, Training for Life), as well as many charities. She supports the work of the Social Economy Alliance. She is currently the Hon Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Social Enterprise, which she founded in 2001, and is a life long member of the Co-operative movement. Prior to joining the Government in 2008, Baroness Thornton ran her own communications consultancy. She has worked with the senior management teams of many social enterprises, voluntary organisations and education institutes, providing support in the areas of communications, marketing and leadership. She is emeritus Governor of the London School of Economics and a Senior Fellow of the Young Foundation. Chris Heald, Senior Associate, Social Business International Chris has a passion for helping individuals, teams and organisations release their potential. He works with a wide range of different clients (size and nature) who wish to benefit from his coaching and facilitation skills, as well as his wide range of experiences. Clients frequently use Chris to advise on and support their long-term strategic objectives, as well as working with the dynamics at the top of organisation (Board & executive leadership behaviours and governance arrangements). Chris has worked extensively with CEOs and senior executives, as well as start-ups, across the public, private, social enterprise and charitable sectors. A fascination for people and what makes them tick has been the constant, and he is most likely to be involved when the dynamics of the organisation or team are causing sub-optimal performance. Chris qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He first became self-employed in January 1996. In 2000 he founded Telos Partners, a management consultancy, with 13 others, where he served on the Board from 2004 and as chairman from 2006 to 2012. Chris also served on the Employee Ownership Association Board from 2014-17. Jamie Veitch, Senior Associate, Social Business International Jamie is a rock-climber, a (social enterprise) coffee addict and author of The Social Entrepreneur’s Guide to Winning Public Sector Contracts. He works with leaders of social enterprises, charities and values-driven businesses helping them to communicate more effectively, secure revenue (and bid effectively for contracts and grants) earn media coverage and engage with clients and stakeholders. A career as a children’s magician paid Jamie’s way through University and enabled travel to Russia, China and Kazakhstan while taking his degree. On graduation he joined a small publishing company which became part of the Mirror Group. There Jamie ran a portfolio of magazines and events, before leaving to launch a magazine publishing company in 1999. This values-driven business ran for 12 years. During that time Jamie and colleagues launched the world’s first social enterprise magazine and repeatedly won public sector contracts. Jamie also became a voluntary board member and advisor to several social enterprises. Since 2010 Jamie’s been consulting to help clients communicate more effectively, measure impact and develop their social enterprises. He also presents a weekly social enterprise radio show on a voluntary basis for Sheffield Live FM radio. Claire Williamson, E3M Associate, Social Business International Following her degree in Modern Languages and European Studies, Claire travelled around the world before developing her professional experience in a variety of roles for the University of Oxford, Oxfam, and at The Word Gym, a translation agency that specialised in low volume, high value advertising and marketing copy. A career break to focus on family led to the world of freelancing, in which Claire provides business support to a small number of organisations, including an educational consultancy and a charity consultancy, as well as SBI. A strong believer in the charitable and voluntary sector, Claire was a trustee of Chipping Norton Lido for many years and still volunteers for the charity, and for her local rugby clubs, where she played and coached. Since 2017, Claire has been supporting the work of E3M, contributing to its membership programmes, events, marketing, web and social media presence. She particularly enjoys seeing the results of all the event planning and management, a highlight being the study trip to Suara in Barcelona in 2023.